Blog
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New project to offer legal and advocacy support for women who sell or exchange sex affected by abuse or violence
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The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) has announced today the launch of ‘RISE @ SWRC’, a short pilot project which offers judgement-free legal and advocacy support for women who sell or exchange sex in Scotland who have been impacted by any form of abuse or violence.
RISE @ SWRC —which stands for Rights, Information, Support and Engagement— will provide women with information about their rights as well as free and confidential legal and advocacy advice, and representation in civil justice processes.
CICA ‘Same Roof Rule’ claims – deadline approaching
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If you experienced sexual abuse before 1 October 1979 you can now either apply or re-apply for Criminal Injuries Compensation (CICA).
You are eligible to apply if:
- The abuse happened before 1 October 1979
and
- You lived with the abuser as a family member.
Reporting stalking to the police – how to make the process more supportive
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Ten years ago, the law in Scotland recognised stalking as a crime for the first time, making it clear that stalkers can face legal consequences for their actions. What’s more, the legislation acknowledged that this type of abuse occurs over the course of two or more incidents and its purpose is to make the victim feel frightened, intimidated and isolated.
Since the law came into force in 2010, we’ve seen some positive efforts to tackle stalking in Scotland; for instance, there is growing awareness of this form of abuse and specialist victim support services have prioritised work on responding to survivors of stalking. At the same time, stalking continues to be an underreported crime.
10 facts about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Scotland
*We are grateful to The Women’s Support Project for their contribution to this blog
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In the last decade there has been wider recognition of the impact that female genital mutilation (also known as FGM, ‘initiation’, ‘circumcision’, ‘rites of passage’, or ‘cutting’, among other names) can have on girls and women, and how common it is.
But what do we know about FGM in Scotland? In this blog we explore some facts about FGM, key aspects of the law, and the work needed to tackle this form of abuse.
We are adjusting our legal helpline to support more women living with abuse
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From January 2021, we are increasing the capacity of our helpline so more women can contact us for legal advice and information. To do this, we are making some adjustments.
Our Thursday helpline will now become available to women living with any form of abuse or violence (including sexual harassment). This means we will no longer offer a specific sexual harassment helpline.
Instead, women affected by sexual harassment will be able to call our helpline during any of its opening times.
