Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Official Report 931KB pdf

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Victims Awareness Week

The final item of business this evening is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-07559, in the name of Russell Findlay, on victims awareness week, championing the rights of crime victims.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament welcomes Victim Support Scotland’s Victims Awareness Week, which will take place from 20 to 26 February 2023; understands that the awareness week will highlight the work undertaken by Victim Support Scotland to support those affected by crime by hearing their voices, highlighting their experiences and championing their rights; notes that Victim Support Scotland is a charity that provides specialist support to people impacted by crimes, including murder, terrorism, rape and sexual assault, domestic violence and hate crime; acknowledges that the impact of crime is wide-ranging and can affect people emotionally, mentally, physically and financially; understands that the week will celebrate the practical assistance and emotional support, including financial support, that can be provided by Victim Support Scotland, and other organisations, to crime victims, their families and friends, and witnesses to empower them to cope with the aftermath of crime and move forward with their lives; notes that Victim Support Scotland also advocates for positive improvements in the criminal justice system and works alongside criminal justice partners, the third sector and local organisations, and further notes the calls on MSPs to commend the work of victim support organisations and raise awareness of what it considers the vital work that they do to help victims and survivors.

17:08  

This debate marks Victim Support Scotland’s victims awareness week, which runs until Sunday. Over the past couple of years I have learned much about the charity and the valuable work that it does. The evidence from its chief executive Kate Wallace to the Criminal Justice Committee is always illuminating, frank and to the point—unlike some politicians, it might well be said. As a prominent voice for crime victims, she takes her responsibility seriously. VSS has to engage with policy makers like us, but its bread and butter is in the real world, supporting victims, witnesses and their families. I will come on to that.

This is only my second-ever members’ business debate—I mention that just in case the chief whip is taking note. The first was almost a year ago, to mark world press freedom day. As a former journalist, I am a passionate believer in the importance of vibrant and varied news media. I suppose that the subject of today’s debate is also personal, in that I, like so many others, have been a victim of serious crime. Members may be aware that I was the subject of a targeted attack, because of my past work investigating organised crime. I was very fortunate not to have suffered any permanent or long-term harm.

Some people do not like the word “victim”, preferring “survivor”—it is a personal choice. I do not categorise myself as either, however: having been a crime victim does not define me, although it did give me useful insight into Scotland’s criminal justice system.

Falling victim to crime can be unsettling, traumatic or even life changing. How many times have we heard victims say the same thing—that the justice process was as big an ordeal, and sometimes even worse, than the crime itself? It is a strange and self-serving world—formal, hostile and alien to outsiders, the rules a mystery. To victims it can be impersonal and intimidating, daunting and despairing.

How many times have we heard the following from victims? They have been deprived of basic information, and what they are told is often grudging or in jargon. Their lives may be trapped in limbo, as criminals play games and cases are prolonged for years. They are retraumatised by hostile treatment in court, belittled and made to feel as if it is they who are on trial. They see criminals being cosseted and pandered to, as if they were the victims. They are shut out and powerless, as prosecutors strike secret plea deals with defence lawyers, often distorting and diluting reality. If justice is eventually done, they can be left scunnered by sentences that do not match the gravity of the crime.

Every day, in every court in Scotland, VSS volunteers are there for those victims. This afternoon in Glasgow, the first-ever VSS excellence awards took place, with 20 employees and volunteers recognised for their endeavours. I commend the winners and each of the 230 volunteers who give up their time to offer practical help and moral support.

Being a victim can have a profound impact emotionally, mentally and physically, but also financially. That brings me to the VSS emergency assistance fund, which has expanded in recent years and which I do not think is widely known about. Victims whose lives have been plunged into turmoil through no fault of their own can readily and rapidly access practical support. The fund is flexible, and it can cover the cost of emergency food supplies, household goods, clothing or security equipment. For families who have lost a loved one to murder, there is support for funeral costs.

I have great empathy with those who have suffered from serious crime. The Scottish Government and its criminal justice agencies frequently talk about the importance of victims’ rights, although I sometimes find myself questioning whether such talk is truly sincere. To be fair—and I am nothing if not fair—there has been meaningful improvement across the United Kingdom in recent years. Last night’s BBC 2 documentary, “Parole”, was fascinating and insightful. Viewers were shown full parole processes taking place in England, and I hope that Scotland will eventually embrace similar transparency.

I have no doubt that the evolution of victims’ rights will continue. Campaigners such as Kate Wallace will keep rattling cages and bending ears. It is clear, however, that there is still so much more to do.

First, I apologise to Mr Findlay. I did not sign his motion, but I would have done so. That was remiss of me.

I read the motion before the debate and I did not see a mention of the support that Victim Support Scotland gives to victims of crime overseas and to those who have lost loved ones overseas. That can include financial support and other kinds of support and assistance. I just wanted to put that on the record, because I have seen at first hand the benefit that Victim Support Scotland offers my constituents, both at home and when tragedy happens abroad.

I can give you the time back, Mr Findlay.

Absolutely: I fully agree with Bob Doris—there’s a first. I thank him for that contribution.

A few weeks ago, Victim Support Scotland arranged private meetings between victims and members of the Criminal Justice Committee. What we heard was truly harrowing, with bright, happy and ordinary lives suddenly cloaked by darkness. That darkness became prolonged as the victims became ensnared by the criminal justice machine. Yet those brave and articulate people glowed with a shining spirit of strength and resilience. I thank them for their testimony, which was humbling and inspiring—but sadly all too familiar. Their motivation for talking to us was not that it would be for their benefit but that it would be for the benefit of future victims. One of them spoke about their frustration with Scotland’s victim notification scheme, which we know has been beset by problems. The on-going review of VNS cannot be botched; VNS must be fixed.

I also commend my colleague Jamie Greene, who is proposing a far-reaching and practical bill on victims, criminal justice and fatal accident inquiries. My colleague Pam Gosal is also working on a member’s bill that would create a domestic abuse register.

This week marks victims awareness week, but fighting for the rights of victims should not just be for one week of the year. As MSPs, we have a duty to ensure that the rights of victims form the cornerstone of our justice system. I used to get frustrated hearing about the agony of victims being aggravated by the injustice of the justice system. I no longer get frustrated, but I get angry—and we should all get angry.

17:15  

I am pleased to speak in this important debate and thank Russell Finlay for bringing it to the chamber and for his articulate speech.

Victim Support Scotland’s victims awareness week is incredibly important and highlights the need to focus on people who need support after a traumatic event in their lives. It does not matter how seemingly trivial the crime is; the effect on the victim’s life and mental health can be enormous.

I have worked with Victim Support Scotland since being elected in 2016 and, as a member of the Criminal Justice Committee, I have the utmost respect for the work that it does. Financial and emotional support is available when people are at their most vulnerable—Russell Findlay mentioned the emergency relief fund, which I did not know about until recently; it is amazing. Practical solutions can be found to the most difficult situations in which victims find themselves and understanding, care and a listening ear are there when they are most needed.

The Scottish Government knows only too well the issues that victims face; admittedly, those have not been focused on enough over the years. The Government has provided £250,000 over three years to fund trauma specialists to help to develop a framework for training staff to create a more trauma-informed and trauma-responsive justice system. Last year, £48 million was awarded to more than 20 victims organisations through our new victim-centred approach fund as part of our commitment to put victims front and centre of the justice system. A total of £413,727 has been awarded to organisations since the Scottish Government launched the victim surcharge fund in 2019. There is also an independent review of the victim notification scheme, led by Alastair MacDonald, the former chair of Victim Support Scotland.

Violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse, is one of the most devastating and fundamental violations of human rights. It is vital that perpetrators are held to account and that women and children have access to front-line services that deal with violence and domestic abuse. Through the delivering equally safe fund, we are dedicating £11 million over two years to tackle domestic abuse and support people who are affected by it. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 created a specific offence of domestic abuse that covers not only physical abuse but forms of psychological abuse as well as coercive and controlling behaviour.

A Scottish Government commitment close to my heart is the bairns’ hoose, which aims to help child victims and witnesses to recover emotionally and physically while gathering legally robust evidence. It is based on an alternative model that was first developed in Iceland in 1998 called barnahus. In the previous session of the Parliament, the Justice Committee, of which I was a member—I still am a member of the Criminal Justice Committee—visited Norway to see that amazing initiative for ourselves. We witnessed child protection, health, police investigation and judicial procedures, mental wellbeing and recovery support all being practised under one roof, with the ethos being one of professionals going to the child rather than the child reliving trauma in a justice system that is designed for adults. Therefore, I am delighted that we will make that approach available in Scotland by 2025.

I was shocked recently to discover that stalking and domestic abuse are not among the crimes listed as being eligible for the victim impact statement process, with such statements submitted to the court before sentencing. That makes no sense, as the devastating effect of those crimes surely needs no explanation. The list must be widened to include those crimes. I hope that the Minister for Community Safety will address that anomaly in her closing speech.

After the debate, I will convene the cross-party group on women, families and justice. Let us not forget that children and families are victims of crime, too, in every circumstance, and must always be supported.

I thank Victim Support Scotland and other organisations, including many volunteers, for the amazing work that they do to help people in their time of need.

17:20  

I begin by thanking Russell Findlay for bringing forward this important issue for debate during Victim Support Scotland’s victims awareness week. I commend many of Russell Findlay’s contributions in the Parliament and I know that he is dedicated to the issue.

I also commend Victim Support Scotland, representatives of whom I met recently. They showed me around the amazing facilities in Glasgow for complainers who are giving evidence remotely or by commission. It is a significant step in our justice system and one that is already making a difference. I commend the organisation for doing that.

As a member of the Criminal Justice Committee and the Labour spokesperson on justice, I am dedicated to listening to victim survivors highlighting their experiences and championing their rights. The testimony of victims of rape and sexual assault indicates that we have a long way to go with regard to listening to them. Without making a system humane, we will not really have achieved our goals.

As Russell Findlay said, if victims do not speak up and give evidence to court, we cannot hold those who are charged with crimes to account. Today, therefore, I take the time to champion the women and girls who are victims of violent crime in Scotland.

A report published by the Scottish Government this month looked into the experience of families who have fallen victim to domestic abuse. One woman told of her harrowing experience in the run-up to her court case, and it is not unusual. She said:

“the police sergeant phoned me the following afternoon to tell me that he’d been released on bail, and he was released about an hour ago to two hours ago, and, if I’m in the house, make sure I get out, because he’ll be there any minute.”

That is just unacceptable in this day and age. We have to wonder why anyone would report a crime if they thought that that was how the release process would be handled. We need radical changes to that.

We need to listen to the voices of survivors when we make the big decisions about reform of the criminal justice system. Delays to hearings and people being put at physical and mental risk during the court process all impact on young children and have all been highlighted by victims and survivors as major failings in the current system. Before lockdown, we still had significant delays in our court system and they are hugely disruptive to the criminal justice process.

Alongside the delays, sexual offence cases have been cancelled or rescheduled many times. Taken together, those issues represent significant causes for concern as victims and survivors of sexual violence and their advocates as well as parliamentarians and policy makers demand some change.

The past few years have seen significant movement in criminal justice reform policy responses to gendered crimes in Scotland, and I thank Victim Support Scotland for its advocacy work on that issue. Unfortunately, we have a long way to go. The Criminal Justice Committee has listened to the testimony of many survivors of rape and sexual assault. In a single day, an average of four rapes will be reported to Police Scotland, which is utterly shocking.

I and my colleague Katy Clark have spoken many times about the need for victims of sexual assault to have legal representation in our system. I firmly believe that it is time for that, and I await the Scottish Government’s plans for reform. In fact, I would have proposed a member’s bill on that very issue had the Government not proposed to come forward with those reforms itself.

We need to change the system and ensure that it is properly balanced to give victims and survivors of all crime the confidence that they can give evidence in our court system and that they will be supported in doing so. We need to make the changes where we can so that it will make the system better.

On that, I commend the work of Victim Support Scotland, and thank Russell Findlay for bringing the debate this evening.

17:24  

I am delighted to contribute to today’s extremely important motion on victims awareness week. I thank my colleague, Russell Findlay, for bringing the debate to the chamber.

Since I began working on my domestic abuse prevention bill, I have been contacted by a number of women who need help. These women have, in some cases, faced threats and abuse from violent individuals for months and sometimes even years. However, the comprehensive services that victims organisations offer mean that, even in the most difficult of cases, they are able to step in and help those women to get the support that they need.

In the past year, Victim Support Scotland has supported around 16,000 people who have been affected by crime; helped more than 5,000 witnesses in court; and successfully rolled out more than 1,000 VSS emergency assistance funds.

Another example is the social enterprise No Feart, which draws on experiences of childhood trauma and the criminal justice system to support others with lived experiences of trauma through to long-term recovery. There is also Shakti Women’s Aid, which helps black and minority ethnic women and children who have been affected by domestic abuse. The organisation raised important points with me about the lack of support for black, Asian and minority ethnic survivors of domestic abuse to attend court and the growing need for the citation letter and subsequent information to be provided in the victim’s mother tongue.

In a briefing ahead of today’s debate, Children 1st stated:

“At the moment, the system itself creates standalone trauma—often reported to be more harmful than the incident itself.”

It is this Parliament’s duty to ensure that support that is provided to victims by the third sector is met with an equally robust response from within the criminal justice system itself. As my colleague Russell Findlay highlighted, that is not always the case. An HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland report recommended that there should be increased training, understanding and a more informed approach to domestic abuse by justice professionals.

Similarly, the “Analysis of the Call for Evidence responses to the Violence Against Women and Girls Funding Review”, which was published last month, found that

“Many responses indicated that third sector organisations should act as a bridge between victims and the statutory services, encouraging reporting of”

violence against women and girls

“especially among hard-to-reach groups.”

It noted that,

“they can bring the voice of the lived experience to the statutory sector”,

and that such organisations can be

“more approachable and can be more accessible to particular groups of women, i.e., BME women, women with disabilities”.

However, respondents also wanted to see tougher punishments for abusers.

Scottish Women’s Aid and others have said that they are concerned about the impact on victims of reducing prison sentences. Recently, Kate Wallace of Victim Support Scotland told the Criminal Justice Committee that,

“Victims often feel as though they have to police the bail conditions themselves, and they often do not know what those are.”—[Official Report, Criminal Justice Committee, 11 January 2023; c 7.]

That is simply not good enough.

While we mark victims awareness week, it is important that, this week and every other week, we keep in mind the work that is carried out by organisations, staff and volunteers to improve the lives of victims in Scotland. However, should this Parliament and this SNP Government fail to adopt a victim-centred, trauma-informed approach to policy making, we risk undermining the hard work of victim support organisations and further traumatising victims.

I think that I speak on behalf of every member in the chamber when I say that, even though many of us hope that we will never have to rely on the services, we must do everything in our power to ensure that we support the organisations that champion the rights of those who do.

17:28  

I thank Russell Findlay for bringing to the chamber a debate on this important topic.

Through supporting victims, we are able to give their voices a platform while developing deeper learning about their experiences and the lives of those who are affected by crime. Victim Support Scotland seeks to undertake fantastic work. However, my constituents have reported that the organisation is overworked and very difficult to get in contact with when it is needed most .

In order to ensure that victims of crime are supported and their voices are heard, we must ensure that there is a place for them in the criminal justice system. That system requires improvements if it is to meet the specific needs of every victim and ensure that justice is served. It is vital that our justice system is anchored in sensitivity to the multiplicity of needs of the victims who will pass through it and that respect is shown to each and every individual.

The Parliament will be aware of the previous cases of unlawful organ retention in the national health service over 20 years ago. My constituent Lydia Reid has been fighting for justice for her son Gary Paton since he died in 1975. Ms Reid has long believed that Gary was a victim of unlawful organ retention and that he was not buried in 1975 as she was led to believe. She recently received the outcome of the Crown Office investigation into her son’s death and burial, which she vehemently disagrees with. She wishes to bury Gary as soon as possible. However, due to a legal system that will give families back their loved one’s belongings only once they say that they will not appeal verdicts, Ms Reid was almost forced to choose between justice and being able to bury her son before she was given a concession.

I have heard from constituents who feel that they have faced hostility and misogyny when reporting domestic abuse. They felt that they were dismissed rather than receiving the care and justice that they deserved. I have also heard from constituents whose additional support needs were not considered when they were involved with the police and judicial system, so they were, in effect, shut out of the justice process due to inaccessibility.

Why do we have a justice system that opts for a one-size-fits-all approach? Every victim experiences crime differently, whether that be because of their gender, age, race, identity or socioeconomic status. Every situation surrounding crime happens and evolves differently. To fully understand victims and survivors and support them through that system, we must have a flexible system that takes every victim’s needs into consideration. Only then can we hope to fully champion the rights of all crime victims. I hope that we can achieve improvements in the criminal justice system in time for victims awareness week 2024.

17:33  

I congratulate Russell Findlay on bringing the motion to the chamber and on his speech, which was, as usual, first class.

I also pay tribute to the work of Victim Support Scotland for its on-going efforts to support victims and to put them where they ought to be. Foysol Choudhury said that there should be a place for victims in the justice system. I put it to the chamber and the minister that victims should be at the centre of that system but, sadly, that is not the case.

I have a postbag, as I am sure every other member does. It is often filled with messages from people who, sadly, are feeling the blunt end of the injustice that victims often experience. I am thinking particularly of a couple of my constituents who have been going through hell on the receiving end of antisocial behaviour that the police have said they can do nothing about. That kind of vulnerability that victims experience and the lack of help that they often receive is at the heart of victims awareness week.

When it comes to politics, we often have heated debates in the chamber—we had one just before this members’ business debate. However, the truth is that there is a lot that unites us and most if not all of us are in the Parliament to promote the common good. That is at the centre of our politics. It is what brings us into politics.

We accommodate one another in debate by listening and engaging. Listening is at the heart of the issue that we are debating because, if we do not listen to people, we cannot understand their experience, what they are going through or what is motivating them and, ultimately, we cannot understand what is in their best interests. That lack of listening to and consideration of the victims of crime is one of the biggest problems that we face in our justice system.

If members will bear with me, I will refer quickly to a personal experience. Russell Findlay could have referred to his personal experience and he did not, so I hope that the Deputy Presiding Officer will forgive me if I do. For many years now, my wife and I have had a stalker. I will not go into the details or disclose all that we have been through, or the impact that it has had on our family life and our children and grandchildren and how they view coming to visit our home. I will, however, pay tribute to Police Scotland. During the most recent episode when the individual tried to kill me—that was what he promised to do—I had a message from my wife while I was sitting in the chamber that Police Scotland had come to the door to ask whether I was still alive. The message from my wife was, “Stephen, are you still alive?” We might think of it as a joke, but the police had apprehended the individual who was threatening to kill me. The police were doing their job and I pay tribute to them, particularly those in Stirling.

It was Michael Marra, my Labour colleague on the Education, Children and Young People Committee, who said to me one day, “I am sorry for everything you are going through.” I thought that it was unusual of him to reach across the aisle in politics if he thought that things were tough for us politically. However, it was nothing to do with politics. He had read a story in The Courier about a court case in which my wife and I had been named, and it was the case of the individual who had threatened to kill me. I knew nothing about it. My wife contacted people at the court at which the case was on-going. As we had been identified as the victims, one would have thought that they would be willing to tell us something about it, but she was told that, under data protection legislation, they could not tell her anything about the case.

I will not go on but, needless to say, at no point from that moment until well past the point at which that individual was found guilty and sent to prison, having already been on remand for six months, which underlines the seriousness of the case, did anyone contact us and talk to us. I used my privilege as a member of the Scottish Parliament to raise the issue with the Lord Advocate and I thank her office for the way in which it eventually responded to our circumstances. I am a member of the Scottish Parliament, but my heart goes out to so many of my constituents in Central Scotland who do not have the advantages and privileges that I made use of. It is not right that people in Scotland who are victims of crime are so often left on their own, vulnerable to the consequences of what has happened to them through no fault of their own.

I say again: is it too much to ask that victims be put at the heart of our justice system?

17:38  

I congratulate Mr Findlay on securing the debate during Victim Support Scotland’s victims awareness week and I congratulate Victim Support Scotland on the success of the week so far. As members have noted, yesterday was European day for the victims of crime, which makes this debate even more apt. I associate myself with the words of Mr Findlay when he congratulated those who are recognised today by Victim Support Scotland’s excellence awards.

I am pleased to be closing the debate for the Scottish Government. We support Mr Findlay’s motion whole-heartedly. Reflecting on the people who are at the heart of victims awareness week, I will begin with a few words for those who have been affected by crime as all too clearly set out by Mr Kerr.

Victim” and “survivor” are short words, but they carry a weight of meaning for those to whom they are attached. It is easy to feel far removed from the possibility of being affected by crime. However, the victim of crime can be anyone, as we have heard: a friend, a parent, a carer, a sibling, a child, a colleague or even oneself. Many colleagues have their own direct experiences, as we have heard. In other words, there is no “them”, only “us”.

With that in mind, I say to all people who are affected by crime: the Government is with you. We are committed to upholding your rights and to making sure that the justice system recognises your experiences as well as the impact that crime can have on you. More simply: we see you, we hear you and we believe you.

It is important that we set out that victims of crime need to be at the centre of a justice system. Russell Findlay recognised the movement in that direction not just here but across the UK and across the world.

Yesterday, I visited an Aberdeen police station to talk to some of the officers. They spoke about the huge backlog in the courts system. Does the minister accept that that backlog adds a lot of stress to the victims of crime and that the more we can do to remove it, the better for the victims?

I absolutely agree with that. Any time that people spend in waiting to access justice will exacerbate their feelings of helplessness in the system. The money that the Scottish Government has put into that system, to aid it to recover, is absolutely vital. It is important that we keep an eye on that as things progress.

We are joined by countless others in our support for victims. Victim Support Scotland, Rape Crisis Scotland, the ASSIST—advocacy, support, safety, information and services together—project, Scottish Women’s Aid and countless others provide crucial assistance to people who are affected by crime. As a former Women’s Aid worker for more than a decade, and as someone who has previously been supported by Victim Support Scotland, I whole-heartedly commend those organisations for all that they do to support victims of crime, and all the leaders at the heart of them, such as Kate Wallace, Sandy Brindley, and Marsha Scott from Scottish Women’s Aid. I thank them for their dedication and compassion. From comments that have been made in the chamber this evening, I know that other members share my views of the vital need to raise awareness of what those organisations do.

The Government is pleased to support those bodies in that work, and, in turn, the people who are affected by crime. I am therefore delighted to be able to announce that we will award more than £500,000 to victim support organisations through the victim surcharge fund. Those funds will be used to provide direct support to victims and survivors. The new awards will bring to £900,000 the total that has been granted through the fund since it was established in 2019. Further information about that will be published tomorrow morning on the Scottish Government’s website.

That builds on our announcement in March last year, which was mentioned by Rona Mackay, that, from 2022 to 2025, we are awarding £48 million to more than 20 victims organisations through the victim-centred approach fund. Recipients include Victim Support Scotland, Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance and Migrant Help.

We also provide around £15.6 million each year to victims of violent crime through the criminal injuries compensation fund. In addition, we are investing £38 million over two years through the delivering equally safe fund, which tackles violence against women and girls—an issue that is close to the hearts of many people, including myself and Pauline McNeill, as we heard from her.

However, it is not just about money. As has been mentioned, our victims task force is driving action to improve the experiences of people who are affected by crime, within the criminal justice system. It is jointly chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans and the Lord Advocate, and includes representatives from victim support organisations such as VSS, as well as criminal justice agencies, the legal profession and academia. The task force has welcomed the newly established victims advisory board, which is comprised of people who are directly affected by crime and will ensure that their voices are heard as part of the task force’s work and beyond. That is really important.

We have listened to people who are affected by crime and acknowledged that further work is absolutely necessary to ensure that their needs are better incorporated into Scotland’s justice system. That acknowledgement is reflected in the Scottish Government’s vision for justice, which envisages a system in which people who are affected by crime

“will be treated as a person first and foremost, our voices will be heard and be supported to recover from the trauma we have experienced.”

As Pam Gosal and Foysol Choudhury have said, we must ensure that we take an intersectional approach to domestic and sexual abuse cases and support organisations such as Amina, Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid and Shakti Women’s Aid. We need to ensure that people from all backgrounds are heard in that space.

Will the minister take an intervention?

Yes—very briefly.

Does the minister believe that our criminal justice system is fit to serve and deliver for black, Asian and minority ethnic communities? Through my consultation on my proposed domestic abuse prevention bill, I heard that, in that area, one size does not fit all. Foysol Choudhury mentioned that as well. I want to hear the minister say whether one size fits all—and, if it does not, what is the Government doing about that?

I absolutely recognise the case that Pam Gosal puts to me. The women’s justice leadership panel, which I currently chair and which will report soon, put that intersectionality approach right at the heart of what we were looking at. Through what we heard from groups such as Amina, we understood that we have to make adjustments within the system so that people feel that they are heard and that their needs are met. I absolutely recognise that.

The criminal justice reform (Scotland) bill, which is to be introduced this year, will support the delivery of vision for justice through provisions that will remove the not proven verdict and grant automatic anonymity to complainers in sexual offence cases, while working towards access to independent legal advice, which Pauline McNeill mentioned. We are also funding trauma specialists to develop a training framework for staff to create a more trauma-informed and trauma-responsive justice system. That is vital.

However, we are not stopping there. The Scottish Government is committed to preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls, and we are implementing equally safe, Scotland’s strategy for achieving that. We are working with justice partners to promote a system that encourages women’s active participation across the criminal justice system. That speaks to what Pam Gosal said.

As was mentioned by Rona Mackay, the introduction of our bairns’ hoose model will put children and young people’s needs front and centre.

I conclude by reaffirming the Government’s commitment to stand by people who are affected by crime, to uphold their rights and to embed their lived experience in a justice system that is trauma-informed and sensitive to their needs. That will include looking at how we can improve access to the ability to give victim impact statements, by moving forward with pilots to expand the scheme to include more types of offence. That is really important.

We will continue to work with victim support organisations as part of that. Again, I whole-heartedly commend the work of those organisations and I welcome the debate as an opportunity to shine a light on the crucial work that they do.

Meeting closed at 17:47.