News/Blog
LEGAL GUIDE: Reporting Sexual Crimes to the Police
Over the past year, movements such as #MeToo and #Time's Up have reminded us all of the need for further resources for women who have experienced sexual crimes. At the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, we often hear that the process of reporting sexual crimes can be challenging and confusing. What should I expect when reporting rape or other types of sexual crimes to the police in Scotland? What are my rights? In order to answer these questions, we are proud to launch our latest legal guide - Reporting Sexual Crimes: Your Rights.
Stalking Awareness Week - New Resource!
As part of Stalking Awareness Week and to celebrate the launch of our new resource on Reporting Stalking we checked in for a quick Q&A with Sarah who works at a local Women’s Aid service to find out how she is getting on using FollowItApp, our innovative new mobile app that supports victim-survivors of stalking to document their experience.
Very often there’s a mismatch between people’s idea of what stalking is, and what the law in Scotland has to say. Scots Law says that the crime of stalking is a course of conduct - this means an incident that takes place two or more times - that places another person in a state of fear or alarm. That means that non-criminal acts, for example sending a text message that says ‘your hair looks nice today’, become criminal and can therefore be reported when they happen twice or more and when they cause the victim to feel afraid. The above text could easily make someone feel afraid, because this is intended to let them know that they are being watched. There are no rules about who can and can’t be a stalker; it can be a friend, acquaintance, or even a total stranger, but most of the time it is a partner or ex-partner and stalking is often experienced as part of domestic abuse.
Announcement: new partnership with JustRight Scotland
The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre is delighted to announce our new partnership with JustRight Scotland, a Scottish legal provider with human rights at their core.
Going forward, we’ll be working closely with JustRight Scotland to continue to provide free legal advice, information and representation to women affected by violence or abuse.
RSS
