Abstract
On 1 February 2018, the Scottish Parliament unanimously voted to pass the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill 2018, legislation that Professor Evan Stark called the new ‘gold standard’ for criminalising coercive control and domestic abuse. The occasion was marked by the entire body of parliamentarians in the Debating Chamber standing, turning to the public gallery, and giving an ovation to survivors and advocates sitting there. For the first time, Scotland had a specific offence defining and criminalising domestic abuse, an offence that comprehensively describes psychological abuse and places it securely in the centre of behaviours deemed criminal. This chapter outlines the notable features of this new law, describes the critical influence of key champions in the criminal and civil justice arenas, and considers the impact of an unprecedented engagement by officials with victims-survivors and their advocates in the law’s development and passage.
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Scott, M. (2020). The Making of the New ‘Gold Standard’: The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018. In: McMahon, M., McGorrery, P. (eds) Criminalising Coercive Control . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0653-6_9
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