Domestic Abuse in Scotland: The changing picture on the law and practice Wednesday 20 th June 2012

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1 OVERVIEW Domestic Abuse has never been far from the top of the Scottish Government s policy agenda since the publication of a national strategy to eliminate domestic abuse in November In the last 12 years a range of policy strategies and high profile initiatives have been introduced with particular emphasis on new legal and judicial measures aimed at giving more resources to the Police and prosecuting authorities. The theme of this conference, which follows on from MacKay Hannah s successful event in 2010, will be current legal and judicial issues including the rolling out across Scotland of domestic abuse courts, the implications of the Criminal Procedure (Detention, Legal Assistance and Appeals) Bill following the Supreme Court s decision on Peter Cadder s appeal and Lord Carloway s Review of Criminal Justice in Scotland. As well as considering current legal and judicial issues the conference agenda will also include consideration of the rise in elderly domestic violence and strategies for children and young people exposed to domestic abuse. KEYNOTE SPEAKER Lesley Thomson Solicitor General for Scotland ALSO FEATURING Lily Greenan, Conference Chair and Manager, Scottish Women s Aid Mhairi McGowan, ASSIST Coordinator, Glasgow Community Safety Services Jenny Kemp, Coordinator, Zero Tolerance Rory Macrae, National Trainer for the Caledonian System, Scottish Government Andrea Thorley-Baines, Abuse Partnership Manager, Blackpool Borough Council Doug McLellan, Development Officer, Age Scotland Morag Driscoll, Director, Scottish Child Law Centre John Scott, Solicitor Advocate and Chair of the Howard League Professor Pamela Ferguson, Chair of Scots Law, University of Dundee

2 CONFERENCE PROGRAMME 09:00-10:00 Conference registration and arrival refreshments 10:00-10:10 Chair s Introduction Lily Greenan, Manager, Scottish Women s Aid 10:10-10:35 Lesley Thomson, Solicitor General for Scotland Keynote address 10:35-10:50 Question and Answer 10:50-11:10 Refreshments and Networking 11:10-11:30 Mhairi McGowan, ASSIST Coordinator, Glasgow Community Safety Services Domestic Abuse Courts 11:30-11:50 Jenny Kemp, Coordinator, Zero Tolerance Under Pressure : causes and consequences of the rise in teen relationship abuse 11:50-12:10 Rory Macrae, National Trainer for the Caledonian System, Scottish Government The Caledonian System: increasing the safety of women and children 12:10-12:30 Question and Answer 12:30-13:30 Lunch and Networking 13:30-13:55 Andrea Thorley-Baines, Abuse Partnership Manager, Blackpool Borough Council The impact of multi-agency risk assessment conferences and domestic homicide reviews 13:55-14:15 Doug McLellan, Development Officer, Age Scotland Tackling the rise in elderly domestic abuse 14:15-14:35 Morag Driscoll, Director, Scottish Child Law Centre Children and contact in the context of domestic violence 14:35-14:55 Question and Answer 14:55-15:45 Debate: the impact of Cadder and Carloway on the Scottish Justice System John Scott, Solicitor Advocate and Chair of the Howard League Professor Pamela Ferguson, Chair of Scots Law, University of Dundee 15:45-15:50 Chair s Closing Remarks KEYNOTE SPEAKER Lesley Thomson Solicitor General for Scotland Immediately prior to her appointment as Solicitor General for Scotland, Lesley Thomson was the Area Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow and Strathkelvin. From May 2008 she led a staff of over 300 across the Glasgow area, prosecuting some of the most high profile cases in the busiest courts in Europe. She has 25 years experience as a prosecutor, having previously been District Procurator Fiscal for Selkirk, District Procurator Fiscal for Edinburgh, and Interim Area Procurator Fiscal for Lothian & Borders, and led on Trial advocacy and Deaths investigation within COPFS.

3 ALSO FEATURING She is an acknowledged specialist in the prosecution of serious crime, including organised crime and financial crime. She is an expert in the Proceeds of Crime legislation, and published the leading textbook on criminal confiscation ("Confiscation: A Practical Guide to Confiscating Crime Proceeds") in She joined the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in 1985, and held a number of roles in Procurator Fiscal's Offices in Greenock, Paisley, and Glasgow before her appointment as Procurator Fiscal for Selkirk. Lily Greenan Conference Chair and Manager, Scottish Women s Aid Lily Greenan has been a feminist activist for nearly 30 years and has spent most of that time working with organisations committed to ending violence against women. She was involved in developing the first National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland and later joined the Expert Committee on Violence Against Women, which was tasked with broadening the domestic abuse strategy to cover all aspects of violence against women. She is currently the Director of Scottish Women s Aid, the lead organisation in Scotland working towards the prevention of domestic abuse. Mhairi McGowan ASSIST Coordinator, Glasgow Community Safety Services Mhairi McGowan has been involved in the development, evaluation and expansion of Glasgow s Domestic Abuse Court since 2003 and became the Manager of ASSIST, the Advocacy and Support Service linked to Glasgow s Domestic Abuse Court in In December 2005, ASSIST launched a MARAC (Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference) to increase the safety of victims in high risk situations, one of only two in Scotland and the only one in the UK convened by victim advocates. Previously she worked with Greater Easterhouse Women s Aid from 1995 and spent 22 years in the Civil Service where her particular focus was building multi-agency cooperation in both policy and practice. She was active in the trade union movement at both a Scottish and British level and represented Scotland at the European Women s Lobby from 1999 to Jenny Kemp Coordinator, Zero Tolerance Jenny joined Zero Tolerance in October 2007 in an education role, and from July 2008 to March 2011 she worked to develop and co-ordinate the VAW Prevention Network and to develop new approaches to preventing violence. Since April 2011 she has held the post of Coordinator, managing the staff team, overseeing all project work and leading on the organisation s policy and media work. Prior to joining Zero Tolerance Jenny worked for the Equal Opportunities Commission, an education funding agency and a health charity. She is married with two young children. Morag Driscoll Director, Scottish Child Law Centre Morag is a qualified solicitor with a background in family law practice and representing children and has been a Reporter to the Children's Hearing. Morag has been a member of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland and is currently Convenor of their Family Law Committee. Andrea Thorley-Baines Abuse Partnership manager, Blackpool Borough Council Andrea is Blackpool s Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Partnership Manager, qualified and experienced in all aspects of public protection and safeguarding. She has a special interest in domestic violence, disability and forced marriage. During 2010, Andrea was a Finalist in the Inspiring Women Awards, the Guardian Public Service Awards and Community Care Awards for her strategic vision and innovation working with vulnerable children. Andrea is a 3rd year PhD student, following successful receipt of a bursary from UCLan and her research topic is Police Officers construction of risk in domestic violence cases involving children

4 Rory Macrae National Trainer for the Caledonian System, Scottish Government Rory has worked in criminal justice social work since For twenty years he has worked in domestic abuse programmes. He was a senior social worker with the Domestic Violence Probation Project in Edinburgh and is project manager of the City of Edinburgh s Working with Men Project. He is one of the co-developers of the Caledonian System, an approach to working with domestic abuse offenders and their families, which was accredited for roll-out across Scotland in He is currently seconded to the Scottish Government as national trainer for the Caledonian System. Rory has contributed to a number of publications and books and has presented and trained widely on engagement with abusive men. In 1998 he spent six months working in a non-court mandated programme for men in Melbourne, Australia. John Scott Solicitor Advocate and Chair of the Howard League John has been the Chair of Howard League for Penal Reform in Scotland since 2006, and was on the Executive Committee for several years before that. Previously John was the Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Centre (formerly the Scottish Council for Civil Liberties) from 1997 until it closed in John is a QC and a partner in Capital Defence Lawyers, Leith and has been a solicitor since This involves attendances at prisons almost every week and the Vice-President (Crime) of the Society of Solicitor Advocates. Professor Pamela Ferguson Chair of Scots Law, University of Dundee Professor Pamela Ferguson holds the Chair in Scots Law at the University of Dundee, where she has been researching aspects of criminal law and procedure for more than 20 years. She is one of the authors of A Draft Criminal Code for Scotland, With Commentary (2003) and more recently Scots Criminal Law: A Critical Analysis (2009, with Dr Claire McDiarmid). Prior to becoming an academic, Professor Ferguson was employed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Doug McLellan Development Officer, Age Scotland WHO THIS CONFERENCE IS AIMED AT Academics Charities Criminal Justice Social Workers MAPPA Coordinators Citizens Advice Elected Members Domestic Violence Groups Legal Profession Mediators Local Authority Housing MSPs and Researchers NHS Boards Police Services Political Parties Prison and Probationary Services Professional and Membership Bodies and Associations Family Law Centres Local Authority Social Work Scottish Government Officials Scottish Parliament Officials Local Authority Education Family Protection Units Voluntary and Community Organisations Mental Health Workers Faith Groups & Churches TO BOOK A PLACE AT THIS CONFERENCE Please book online using our simple 4 step booking process at CONFERENCE RATES

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