John Swinney has been urged by Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton to finally implement key domestic abuse protections that remain unused five years after being passed by the Scottish Parliament. The call comes as sexual crime in Scotland reaches its highest level since 1971, with domestic abuse offences rising by 23% year-on-year.
Unused Powers Under the 2021 Act
Key elements of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) Act 2021 have still not been brought into force due to “operational challenges and costs” flagged by police and prosecutors. The measures would give police and courts the power to remove a domestic abuser from the home of any person at risk immediately following an incident. The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre has warned that delays mean victims and their children “remain at serious risk of further abuse and harm”.
Cole-Hamilton and Turvey’s Letter to the First Minister
In a letter to the First Minister, Cole-Hamilton and fellow Lib Dem MSP Yi-pei Chou Turvey called on the Scottish Government to “take practical steps to put robust protections in place”. They highlighted that sexual crime is now at its highest level since 1971, and domestic abuse crimes rose by 23% compared to the previous year, increasing from 2,573 to 3,170. “Despite the growing prevalence of these crimes, important domestic abuse protections passed by the Scottish Parliament five years ago are still not in place,” they wrote.
Scottish Women’s Aid Perspective
The MSPs quoted Scottish Women’s Aid, which stated that the protections represent “a paradigm shift in approaches to protecting women and children experiencing domestic abuse and offering them options that included barring a perpetrator from the home – as opposed to women and children being forced to leave their home and move to refuge, or temporary accommodation and the homelessness system”. They acknowledged operational and financial challenges but argued these are not a reasonable justification for continued delays, especially five years after the Act was passed. “We worry that such delays only serve to give victims very little confidence in laws designed to protect them,” they added.
Government Response
Kirsten Oswald, the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, said: “We are focused on preventing violence against women and girls as well as responding to it effectively. That’s why we are increasing the Delivering Equally Safe Fund by five per cent, bringing total investment to almost £46 million over 2026–2028. We remain fully committed to implementing part one of the 2021 Act, and overcoming the recognised operational challenges and costs identified by justice partners and stakeholders in a way that delivers a sustainable approach to domestic abuse protection.” She also highlighted the Victims, Witness and Justice Reform Act 2025, which she said made “historic reforms to transform victims’ and witnesses’ experience of the justice system”.
