Ensuring Access to Justice for Survivors of Domestic Abuse

That the Parliament recognises that access to justice is a cornerstone of a fair society; notes with concern reports that survivors of domestic abuse who qualify for civil legal aid can be unable to find a solicitor willing and able to take their case; believes that legal aid is meaningless if there is no lawyer available to provide it; further believes that this failure is particularly unacceptable in complex family law cases, where the absence of legal representation can leave survivors legally tied to abusive partners and vulnerable to continued coercive control, and calls on the Scottish Government to make access to civil legal aid an urgent priority, ensure that legal aid rates are sufficient to make complex family law work viable, address so called legal aid deserts that leave eligible people without representation and ensure that survivors of domestic abuse can access the legal representation they need to end abusive relationships and rebuild their lives.