DUMBARTON District Women’s Aid say it is still too early to properly measure the success of Scotland’s new domestic abuse law.

It’s been one year since the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act came into force, which covers a range of coercive and controlling behaviours.

Police Scotland has revealed that across the country, 1,669 offences have been recorded under the new law since its introduction on April 1, 2019.

A total of 1,565 offences involved a female victim, and in 94 per cent of these cases the abuser was male.

A spokeswoman for Dumbarton District Women’s Aid told the Reporter: “Never would we have expected to be marking this anniversary in the midst of a pandemic.

“We acknowledge and sympathise with additional pressures that Covid-19 is putting on the police and the justice system in Scotland.

“Unfortunately, it is our job to point out that domestic abuse is not taking a break for this virus and that robust implementation of the new law is now more urgent and important than ever.

“The new law meant that Scotland’s legislation finally reflected what women and children had been telling us for decades – that abuse is about control, fear and humiliation.

“Domestic abuse is experienced 24/7 as a pattern of controlling behaviours, sometimes including physical, and very often, sexual assaults.

“For as long as we have been doing this work, we have been told that it is this emotional, coercive abuse that cages them and traumatises them.”

More than 14,000 police officers and staff across Scotland have been trained to recognise that domestic abuse is not always violent or physical, but is often psychological.

In West Dunbartonshire, 631 domestic abuse crimes were recorded between October and December in 2019, compared to 462 during the same period in 2018, when the new law wasn’t in force.

The spokeswoman went on to say: “We have been really encouraged by the way that the police and the Crown Office have embraced this new legislation.

“However, while we have no doubt that this law has been embraced at a national level, we are convinced that successful implementation is still far off as we continue to hear mixed reports from our 36 local Women’s Aid services.

“We’re in the early days yet when it comes to measuring the success of the law.

“We are hopeful that, when we look back in years to come, this really will have marked the turning point we all hoped for after decades of work and campaigning to see this law come to be. “

“For now, our work continues to build a Scotland with no domestic abuse, where women, children and young people are free to enjoy all of their human rights.”

Dumbarton District Women’s Aid can be contacted for support by calling 01389 751036 or emailing group@ddwa.org.uk.