Scottish Women’s Aid have said that due to Scotland’s bail provisions, women and children “are still not safe.”
On Wednesday, Holyrood’s Criminal Justice committee heard evidence from victim support organisations, third sector partners and community safety organisations.
The session considered how various issues across the justice system affect victims’ experiences, recovery and confidence in the system.
The panel was asked about the impact of the repeal of Section 23D of Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, which set out a presumption against bail for people accused of violent, sexual, and/or domestic abuse offences in solemn proceedings, where they have a previous conviction of a similar nature.
My concern is that that even when the bail provisions are carried out robustly and with the best professionalism in the world, women and children are still not safe, and there's been ample evidence of that over the last few months about what happens
Scottish Women’s Aid were critical of the repeal when it was proposed in 2023.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of Scottish Women’s Aid, said: “My concern is that that even when the bail provisions are carried out robustly and with the best professionalism in the world, women and children are still not safe, and there’s been ample evidence of that over the last few months about what happens.”
While she said she “understands the pressures” on prisons currently being overcrowded, she added: “We should be focusing all of our decision making on first the safety of victims or complainers.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Wednesday morning, First Minister John Swinney defended Scotland’s bail system.
He said he believes Scotland has a “very strong bail test” which takes into account the perspective of victims and the issue of public safety.
However he said “tragically, there are cases where the judgment is wrong”, as in the case of murdered mother Stacy Mair, whose maiden name was Hunter.
She was found dead at a cottage in Houston, Renfrewshire, on July 27. Police treated her death as murder.
Her estranged husband Jim Mair, 43, was also found dead at the cottage, with his death being treated as unexplained.
He had appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court on July 6 charged with assaulting the 35-year-old mother and had been granted bail weeks before her death.
Dr Scott also said called for further investment to tackle the rising number of domestic abuse cases dealt with by the justice system.
Now, if we saw any kind of an investment in responding to domestic abuse that was that correlated with the sheer numbers and the burdens that it places on the system, we'd probably be a little bit better at this
She said: “The biggest area of work for police and courts in Scotland is domestic abuse – you know, it’s something like 25 to 30% of their work, and you can’t find something else that they do more often that requires more of their resources.
“Now, if we saw any kind of an investment in responding to domestic abuse that was that correlated with the sheer numbers and the burdens that it places on the system, we’d probably be a little bit better at this.
“But I do think that it is really important that we set the system up around that rather than around you other forms of crime that are less likely to occur and have such a high rate of recidivism.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Domestic abuse is abhorrent and we have taken action to tackle it through legislation to strengthen confidence in the system and to ensure police, prosecutors and the courts have the powers they need to bring perpetrators to justice.
“The repeal of section 23D in the Bail and Release from Custody Act 2023 did not remove the court’s ability to remand individuals accused of violent, sexual or domestic abuse offences – it did introduce a single, consistent bail test to be applied in all cases, with a clear focus on protecting victims, safeguarding the public and preventing harm, and for the first time, it made clear that the court should specifically consider the protection of the victim from risk of both physical and psychological harm, reflecting the ground-breaking approach on defining domestic abuse in the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.
“An increased number of reports under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 shows the legislation is being used to tackle abusive behaviour, while the increased number of cases progressing through the courts shows that men who inflict violence and abuse can be held to account and face the consequences of the law.
“Prisons will always be necessary for those who pose the greatest risk of harm and public safety will continue to be a priority in our considerations on how to achieve a sustainable prison population.”