Scottish Lib Dems lay out manifesto plans to tackle violence against women

Scottish Liberal Democrat deputy leader Wendy Chamberlain MP has today announced her party’s manifesto plans to tackle violence against women and girls, which includes ending long delays to the introduction of the Domestic Abuse Act and creating specific offences around prejudice against women. 

Despite the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2021 passing five years ago, the SNP government have still to implement two of its key provisions: domestic abuse protection notices and domestic abuse protection orders. 

Notices would allow the police to require a perpetrator to leave a victim’s home immediately after an incident. Orders would give a sheriff the power to impose certain requirements or prohibitions against a perpetrator. 

The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre has warned that this delay means victims and their children “remain at serious risk of further abuse and harm”. 

In their manifesto, Scottish Liberal Democrats are committing to: 

• End delays and bring Part 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act into effect to introduce greater protections for victims.
• Bring in separate offences targeting prejudice against and contempt for women.
• Give victims a single point of contact within a local authority so they only need to tell their story once. 
• Introduce a duty on councils to ensure all housing and frontline staff are trained to detect and respond to domestic abuse.
• Protect the ‘fund to leave’, championed by the Scottish Liberal Democrats. 
• Make it a legal presumption that a domestic abuse perpetrator will be the one required to leave the shared home. 
• Crack down on offenders acting vexatiously in court and exerting control over survivors. 
• Implement the Istanbul Convention so that there are protections for all survivors regardless of nationality or immigration status. 
• Implement the provisions in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2020. 

Scottish Liberal Democrat research revealed that officers attended 5,945 domestic incidents over the Christmas period between 1st December 2024 and 3rd January 2025. 

Wendy Chamberlain MP said:

“Violence against women and girls is disturbingly prevalent across Scotland. 

“Scottish Liberal Democrats believe in fairness for everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from. 

“It’s why we are committed to long-term, systematic change in our police, in our health service, in our schools and more to deliver for women and girls. 

“In practical terms, that means ending delays to the introduction of key domestic abuse protections, making it easier for women to come forward and tell their stories, and cracking down on horrific practices like female genital mutilation. 

“Violence against women and girls is a national emergency- we cannot afford to fall behind in our response. 

“By backing the Scottish Liberal Democrats on your peach, regional ballot paper in May, you can vote for a party that will strive to end this violence for good."