The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 requires courts to consider imposing a non-harassment order on an offender convicted of a domestic abuse offence to protect their victim from further abuse and makes several other reforms to criminal procedure to protect victims.
ARLA Propertymark has worked in partnership with the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) to raise awareness of the issue amongst agents. Representatives from the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance have spoken at ARLA Propertymark Regional Meetings and the two organisations have worked together to produce a Fact Sheet on supporting tenants threated with or experiencing domestic violence or abuse.
For police it means they can now include evidence of coercive and controlling behaviour where it forms a pattern alongside physical and sexual abuse.
The Scottish government has provided £825,000 to Police Scotland for more than 14,000 police officers and will also support staff to receive training on the new act. Police Scotland has also developed online training available to all 22,000 staff members.
An awareness campaign to increase the public’s understanding of the legal nature of domestic abuse and to encourage victims of abuse to seek help has also been launched.
Anyone in Scotland who wishes to speak to someone in confidence can call the 24-hour Domestic Abust Helpline on 0800 0271234.
Help for members
Propertymark, in conjunction with DAHA (Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance) created a Fact Sheet for its Members to help them know what to look out for, how to spot signs of domestic abuse and more.
Fact sheet: Domestic abuse support for tenants
The PRS accounts for nearly 20 per cent of all households in England and houses more families than social housing. It's therefore good practice for letting agents have the confidence to respond appropriately and know what signs to look out for.
Image attribution: "Humza Yousef" used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped from original