Supported victims

Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland – 10-year anniversary

The Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland (DSDAS) was launched on 1 October 2015, with the aim of enabling anyone with concerns about their partner, to apply for a disclosure. This scheme also allows a person to request a disclosure on behalf of someone else if they have concerns.

Since its launch, over 35,000 applications have been received and over 19,700 disclosures have been made.

Under the Right to Ask, anyone who has a concern, be it the individual in the relationship, their family, friends, colleagues, or neighbours can submit an application.

Under Power to Tell, professionals including the police and partner support agencies can apply for a disclosure to be made where they have reason to believe a person could be at risk of domestic abuse.

After checks, if a disclosure is deemed lawful, proportionate, and necessary to keep an individual safe, a disclosure will be made to the person at risk.

The introduction of DSDAS has made significant changes and improvements to the violence against women landscape and we know disclosures have empowered women to leave potentially abusive relationships.

The Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill

On Wednesday, 17 September, the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed following a vote at the Scottish Parliament.

While the Bill makes a number of changes to our justice system, it also underpins principles of a victim-centred, trauma-informed criminal justice system, which Police Scotland supports and has championed.

Supported victims is a key strand of our vision for policing and our business plan sets out milestones we will deliver to help victims and witnesses feel supported, safe, and informed throughout their journey. We know that with the right support, victims feel more confident engaging with services, provide their best evidence and are less likely to become a repeat victim of crime.

This work also closely aligns with our Violence Against Women and Girls strategy.

As well as focusing on policing’s role in implementing the Victims’ Code for Scotland, we review our own standards of service each year to ensure that victims and witnesses receive the support and information they need throughout the criminal justice process.

In early 2025, we established a Trauma-Informed Implementation Team to support the ambitions of the Bill and drive work to develop, embed and sustain trauma-informed practice across the organisation.

Significant work is already under way, including improvements to the care card as well as strengthening our links with support services and considering retrospective referrals for victims.

We are working with People at Heart, a Scottish Government funded programme to improve key justice communications, which provides officers and staff with training and support to enable them to take a more person-centred, trauma-informed, approach to communications with victims and witnesses.

We will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government, victim groups and other key partners as we drive this important work.