Portfolio questions - “Surviving Domestic Abuse” 20.03.24

Domestic abuse is abhorrent. The documentary showed that it is vital that perpetrators are held to account and brought to justice, and that support services can be accessed. This month we announced funding of £2 million to Rape Crisis Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid to reduce waiting lists for women who need support services. That is in addition to our £19 million of annual funding from our delivering equally safe fund, which has supported 121 projects from 112 organisations since October 2021. Almost 32,000 people benefited in the first year of delivering equally safe. Of course, we want to stop abuse taking place in the first place, which is why we all have a role to play in tackling the deep-rooted sexism and misogyny that is inherent in the perpetrating of violence against women and girls.