A Perthshire mum’s three-year campaign to better protect pregnant women who are victims of violence has reached a landmark moment.
The chamber debate also saw a recommendation for the “review and evaluation” of the Domestic Abuse Act 2018. “He has written to the police to urge them to treat the matter with seriousness as they keep telling me that stalking isn’t a criminal offence. She suffered three tragic miscarriages at the hands of violent ex-partners, where in one shocking incident she was knocked her over by a car driven by a former partner when she was just six weeks’ pregnant.
The first was that the Scottish Government should undertake “a review and evaluation of the effectiveness of the current legal framework in bringing forward prosecuting charges of this nature”. However, the current legal framework does not specifically recognise pregnancy loss as a result of domestic abuse and offenders can get off with a fine as small as £50.