Blog
Don’t Blame It On The Burka
At Scottish Women’s Aid we regularly see domestic abuse blamed on a lot of things: football, alcohol, hot weather, cold weather, long evenings and, of course we can’t forget, short evenings. Now? Burkas. And as we see people piling on to be outraged at the wearing of...
Guest Blog: Never Vera Blue
Futures Theatre are proud to be partnering with Scottish Women’s Aid to bring their new production Never Vera Blue to the 2018 Edinburgh Festival. The play is the second commission from Futures creative engagement programme An Alternative Life which we delivered from...
No, Domestic Abuse Does Not Increase By 38% When England Lose The World Cup
It doesn’t rise by 26% when they win either. In short, the outcome of the game has very little impact on whether or not domestic abuse is happening across the UK. Because it is happening. It is happening in every single community, World Cup or no World Cup. But the...
An Open Letter To My Abusive Ex And Father Of My Child
Northern Irish writer Beau Marshall has written a painfully honest open letter to her ex and the father of her child. We are incredibly grateful to her that she has given us permission to share it here in full. Please read with care. (stock image © Laura Dodsworth)...
What Does Abortion Have To Do With Domestic Abuse, Anyway?
Never in the history of ever have rights been dished out on a plate to groups facing discrimination. Not once has someone with heaps of power entirely of their own volition thought: hey my privilege is spilling over a bit, you want some? As we celebrate the suffrage...
Exciting News! What Being Charity of the Year Finalists Means To Us ❤
We’re absolutely thrilled to be finalists for SCVO’s Charity of the Year! For us this is a celebration not just of our work now, but that of the workers, volunteers, survivors and supporters across the Women’s Aid network in Scotland for more than 40 years. It has...
Guest Blog: Stalking, Technology & Domestic Abuse
Photo copyright: Laura Dodsworth There's a reason the addresses of refuges are kept secret. By now it's no shock to us abusive men will try to trace, follow, intimidate and harass partners and ex-partners, even to the very location that women and their children (if...
Guest Blog: What journalists need to know about the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill
Tomorrow Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) will gather to debate Stage 3 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill. This Bill has the potential to positively transform the way we respond to survivors and to challenge outdated attitudes regarding domestic abuse....
Solicitor General Alison Di Rollo: Prosecuting Domestic Abuse in Scotland
It was an absolute honour to speak at the Scottish Women’s annual conference this year and to see familiar faces present from so many different agencies. There was a real energy in the room which, I believe, comes from our shared sense of purpose. We need to work...
This Is Why Survivors Need The Istanbul Convention
CW: mentions of violence against women, personal account of rape, forensic medical examinations, trauma. When my court case was dropped, my appeal failed and my rapist walked free, it was more than just devastation I had to deal with. Since then I’ve carried with me a...