Dr Marsha Scott

📖#SWAhistorySpotlight📖 This year we’re turning 50! As we get ready to mark 50 years of Scottish Women’s Aid, we’re taking some time to look back. Today is also the start of Women’s History month, which is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society. So, before our official anniversary celebrations begin at the end of this month, March will be a moment to reflect on the journey that brought us here. From the first Women’s Aid groups offering refuge and solidarity, to five decades of campaigning for women and children’s safety, our history is rooted in collective action and the determination to create change. Throughout this month, we’ll be sharing snapshots from our past: milestones, memories, and the people who helped build Scottish Women’s Aid into the national movement it is today.

There are more than 30 expert Women’s Aid services across Scotland helping women and children every day. If you’re looking for support, find your nearest Women’s Aid here: womensaid.scot/find-nearest-w…

Significant reforms to the justice system, including the abolition of the not proven verdict, will come into force from today. The threshold for a guilty verdict in jury trials will also increase - though the legislation will not apply to trials that are already underway. The series of recommendations we made in our consultation response, can be read in full, here: ow.ly/UiVO50WXqeY

If you want to play a part in helping women and children rebuild their lives after domestic abuse, then a job with Women's Aid might be for you. There are roles with our groups across the country. Find out more: womensaid.scot/news/vacancies/

🚨 Domestic abuse and reproductive control go hand in hand. For many survivors, controlling a person’s body, including denying access to abortion or coercing an unwanted pregnancy, is an extension of abuse. The Let’s Change the Act campaign is calling for the full decriminalisation of abortion in Scotland, a change that would help protect bodily autonomy, reduce stigma, and limit harmful police involvement in reproductive health. Sign up to join the campaign here: ow.ly/SlGY50XKbx5 When abuse includes reproductive coercion, survivors often face impossible choices: •being denied access to abortion •being forced to continue a pregnancy •being criminalised or reported for seeking care We stand with Let’s Change the Act. Reproductive rights are essential to safety, dignity, and justice. ⚠️ Abortion should be treated like other healthcare: safe, legal, decriminalised. Let’s change the act for bodily autonomy, for survivors, for dignity. #ReproductiveJustice #DecriminaliseAbortion #EndDomesticAbuse #LetsChangeTheAct

📣Please help us spread the word. Scotland’s Domestic Abuse & Forced Marriage Helpline will be available 24/7 throughout the Christmas period 💜 📞 0800 027 1234 💻 Email & web chat: sdafmh.org.uk 📱 Text/WhatsApp: 07401 288 595

📣Share to make sure people know support is still here. Scotland's Domestic Abuse & Forced Marriage Helpline is open as usual over Christmas - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 💜 📞 0800 027 1234 💻 Email & web chat: sdafmh.org.uk 📱 Text/WhatsApp: 07401 288 595

@berringdenbrow @scotwomensaid Coercive control at work. So insidious. Thank you for sharing!

@scotwomensaid @SWACEO My father varied the amount of weekly housekeeping money to mum depending on his opinion of her housekeeping abilities - payment by results - making it impossible for her to budget. she got a job so he deducted the amount she earned from the housekeeping so she was no better off

This is a sobering article and a reminder that women's poverty is also children's poverty. Data from charity Surviving Economic Abuse showed that over the past year, 27% of mothers with children under 18 had experienced behaviour considered to be economic abuse. ''The research found perpetrators used various means, including stopping mothers accessing bank accounts and child benefits, and refusing to pay child maintenance.'' Read more here: theguardian.com/society/2025/d…

💸 😟 Economic abuse traps women in abuse and poverty and limits their ability to leave. Public debt is often accrued by the perpetrator in the woman’s name without her knowledge, or she is coerced into taking on debt. Women escape abuse burdened with debt, such as rent arrears or joint council tax liabilities, that prevent them from starting again. Being held responsible for coerced debt and the inability to make those payments because of economic abuse often forces survivors and their children to return to their abusive partners. To #MakeHomeSafe for Survivors, Scotland needs urgent action: 📝Recognise domestic abuse as a mitigating factor in all debt recovery, rent, and credit frameworks. 💼 Expand financial advocacy services within Women’s Aid and housing pathways. Economic abuse keeps women trapped, and if we are to #MakeHomeSafe for survivors, recognition and understanding of economic abuse must be a vital part of the response. Make housing a right, not another fight for survival. #16Days #VAWG #Scotland #HousingJustice #MakeHomeSafe

Our CEO Dr Marsha Scott shares her thoughts on how we can #MakeHomeSafe for survivors. No woman or child should be made homeless by abuse, and it’s time for those in power to act. #16Days #VAWG #Scotland #HousingJustice

Imagine a Christmas filled with fear, control and threats instead of family, love and happy memories. A member of our Survivor Reference Groups tells us what Christmas was like, when she was in an abusive relationship. We want your help to end domestic abuse in Scotland so no woman or child spends Christmas in fear. Find out more and donate here: ow.ly/L14A50XAwyJ Your donation will be generously matched by the Big Give Christmas Challenge.

#ForThemAll In memory of the women and children who died at the hands of abusive men and those who died as a result of the trauma they endured. They should never be forgotten. #16DaysOfActivism #forthemall #scottishwomensaid #grampianwomensaid

In this video, our CEO, Dr Marsha Scott, shares her reflections on the significance of tonight’s #ForThemAll vigil. 💜

As we participate in the #ForThemAll vigil tonight, we hold in our hearts every woman and child lost to domestic abuse. Thank you for taking this time to remember them and to stand with survivors. In this video, a member of our Survivor Reference Group speaks with quiet strength about her hope for a future where women and children can live free from fear. If you need support, Scotland’s Domestic Abuse & Forced Marriage Helpline is available 24/7 on 0800 027 1234 or text/WhatsApp 07401 288595. Thank you for being here. #ForThemAll

Join us for the #ForThemAll vigil on Dec 5 at 7pm Light a candle, share a photo, and tag @gwomensaid and @scotwomensaid. 💜 #16Days #EndViolenceAgainstWomen

🕯️We remember the lives cut short. We remember the children who never grew up. We remember the women whose stories ended too soon. If you’re with us tonight: light a candle, share a photo or a few words, use the hashtag #ForThemAll and tag @scotwomensaid. Let’s make sure the women and children who have been killed by abusive men are never forgotten. 💜

In this 16 Days of Activism, we mourn all those who have died because of domestic abuse, and we work for the year we have 0 deaths in Scotland. @scotwomensaid

🏠⚠️ Today marks the first day of the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign that brings individuals, groups, and organisations across the globe together to call for an end to violence against women and girls. This #16Days, we are raising awareness and calling for action to address the crisis facing many women and children when they seek housing after leaving an abuser. For too many women and children, leaving their abuser does not guarantee safety. Instead, they face years on housing waiting lists, underfunded refuge services, and a housing system ill-equipped to meet their needs. 📣 We are campaigning to #MakeHomeSafe for Survivors. Make housing a right, not another fight for survival. Over #16Days we will outline the key issues and actions needed to address this issue and prioritise the needs of survivors. By the end of this #16Days we will provide a clear picture of what women and children are facing and what needs to change. Stand with us. Share our message. And together, let’s demand accountability to #MakeHomeSafe for survivors across Scotland. 💜 #16Days #VAWG #Scotland #HousingJustice #MakeHomeSafe

😞 “No woman should have to choose between staying with her abuser and becoming homeless.” 😞 On the second day of our campaign to #MakeHomeSafe for Survivors, we’re shining a light on the harsh reality women face when they need to leave their home to stay safe. The housing and support environment in Scotland is stacked against survivors. A system that should offer protection too often leaves them with nowhere to turn. The result is devastating. Far too many women and children find themselves forced back into danger because the alternatives are unsafe, unaffordable, or simply unavailable. Here’s just a small snapshot of what survivors are facing: 🏚️ Homelessness is at a 12-year high, so there is even greater demand for housing. 📉 Social housing supply has fallen to its lowest level in a decade. 💸 The cost-of-living crisis means that basic essentials are often beyond reach, making living autonomously even more difficult. ⏳There are long waiting lists for refuge spaces in many Women’s Aid services due to a lack of sustainable funding and cuts. 📑 Most social landlords do not have adequate domestic abuse policies, with only a few meeting good practice standards — leaving survivors trapped in unsafe housing or prolonged homelessness. Please share this message to raise awareness of the challenges women face and why authorities must make domestic abuse a nationally recognised housing need, accepted at face value across all local authorities. Make housing a right, not another fight for survival. #16Days #VAWG #Scotland #HousingJustice #MakeHomeSafe