The Scottish Sentencing Council has found victims-survivors of domestic abuse take a different view on sentencing than itself, after commissioning Glasgow Caledonian University researchers to look into the subject.
“What victim-survivors considered to be the main purposes of sentencing did not necessarily align with those set out by the High Court and developed by the [sentencing] council in the principles and purposes of sentencing guidelines,” report authors Nancy Lombard and Erin Rennie wrote.
They interviewed 24 women across Scotland. “For all of the women we spoke to, their priorities for sentencing were immediate and continued safety for them, their family and potential future partners …
“Successful sentencing provided a validation of their experiences and the public acknowledgment of its impact upon their own lives, those of their children and wider family and friends.”
But when charges and the sentence were minimised, that further compounded their trauma of domestic abuse, the authors say in their report, Exploring views on sentencing for domestic abuse in Scotland.
“An ‘absolute discharge’ was viewed by women as insulting. Women maintained it undermined their experience and vindicated their abuser. Similar was said of the practice of single fines which women saw as a monetary measure of their trauma, arguing that when they were used it should be in conjunction with other sentences and safety measures,” they added.
Among other findings were: reducing suffering to a single incident or offence during sentencing does not reflect the magnitude of what had happened to victims-survivors; a desire for clearer communication of the legal processes, procedures and outcomes; and greater, more consistent use of non-harassment orders (NHOs).
Sentencing council chair Lady Dorrian said: “This research … will help to inform our work on a sentencing guideline for domestic abuse offences. The council will also consider how it can improve awareness of sentencing in regard to these offences.”
