Developing a draft sentencing guideline on domestic abuse

Blog from Joanne McMillan, solicitor member of the Council

Domestic abuse accounts for a significant, and growing, number of cases within Scotland’s criminal justice system. 

It represents a substantial violation of the trust and security which should exist between partners and can prove particularly damaging and traumatic to those involved, including children.

Such abuse can involve a broad range of circumstances, with examples of offending including controlling a partner’s clothing or finances, or serious sexual or physical violence.

The complex and wide-ranging nature of domestic offending often makes sentencing a challenging task for judicial office holders.  

So, how do judges select an appropriate sentence? Which factors do they consider? And how do they balance the need to protect victims with other purposes of sentencing such as rehabilitation and punishment.  

These are just some of the questions the Scottish Sentencing Council has been considering in the development of a sentencing guideline on domestic abuse.

As a member of the Council, I have been involved in this development, and I’m pleased to say that a draft version of the guideline has been prepared.

However, we now want to know how others would answer these questions.

A public consultation on the draft guideline is underway, and I would encourage everyone with an interest to read it and offer their views.

The Council consults publicly on all of its guidelines, but before it reaches this stage, extensive research and engagement is carried out in order to prepare a draft.

For the domestic abuse guideline, this has included commissioning research on victim-survivors’ views and understanding of sentencing.

The research, conducted by Glasgow Caledonian University, found that victim-survivors’ main priority for sentencing is the safety and protection of themselves and their children.

They also expressed a desire for acknowledgement of not only the immediate impact of the abuse, but also the long-lasting and continued trauma.

The research additionally found that victims often struggle to understand the processes, procedures and outcomes at sentencing.

The draft guideline highlights the serious nature of domestic abuse offending and we hope – once finalised – will help to provide greater transparency on judicial decision-making.

The development process has also involved examining sentencing data for domestic offending, as well as engaging with justice partners, third sector organisations and the judiciary.

The evidence gathered has led to the drafting of a guideline which, rather than setting sentencing ranges, instead focuses on the issues to be considered by judges when sentencing.

The Council has taken the view that due to the very wide scope of offences involved in domestic offending, any sentencing ranges would be too broad to provide any real assistance to the courts.

The public now has the chance to tell us whether or not they agree with this approach.

With high numbers of sentences handed out each year for domestic abuse offending, it is vital that this guideline is fit for purpose.

Please take this chance to help shape it.

The consultation will run to 6 August and is available on the Council website.