Report Summary
This report provides members of the Scottish Police Authority with an overview of information relating to the Police Service, policing and the state of crime.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Meeting of the Scottish Police Authority - 27 November 2025
Date : 27 November 2025
Location : Caledonian Suite, COSLA, Verity House, 19 Haymarket Yards, Edinburgh, EH12 5BH
Supported victims
Tackling violence against women and girls
International initiative 16 Days of Activism to tackle gender-based violence commenced this week. Police Scotland has long been a supporter of 16 Days, it allows us to bring a spotlight to the action we take year-round to make our communities safer for women and girls.
The focus this year is on cyber enabled offending targeting women and girls. As has been highlighted at recent committees this is an area of criminality that continues to grow in Scotland, and worldwide.
The programme of activism provides an opportunity to highlight action that we are taking, both as an organisation, and collectively with our partners, to tackle violence against women and girls.
Our latest That Guy campaign will run on our social media channels throughout 16 Days. Our recent survey highlighted that 94% of young men surveyed agreed men have a part to play in reducing sexual violence and three quarters of men (78%) agreed that they would like to do more to stop sexual violence. Our campaign continues to support them to do this.
Our domestic abuse campaign continues its run, signposting young men to support to change their abusive behaviour before it escalates.
Reports of sexual crime and domestic abuse continue to increase. We hope that this is in part down to the action we are taking in both prevention and operational spaces, and the increased confidence in victims to report.
Prevention is key but it operates alongside our commitment to continually improving the service we provide to victims of violence against women and girls, in all its forms.
Tackling violence against women and girls is a key element of our Vision 2030. Our new public protection model for local policing, developed with partners, will bring together a cohesive model for Safeguarding and Investigations across Scotland and ensure national consistency.
Police Scotland has made significant strides in delivering our strategy. This work will continue as we refresh our strategy for 2026, with a focus on continuing to improve victims' experiences of the criminal justice system, continuing to improve and refine our response, and identifying and responding to emerging threats.