A 15-year-old boy has been accused of psychological domestic abuse against his 14-year-old girlfriend, making him the youngest person to face prosecution under the new legislation. It is alleged the boy engaged in a course of behaviour between 17 and 22 October, which was considered abusive towards the third-year pupil at Perth Secondary School. His aim was allegedly to “control, regulate and monitor her day-to-day activities and to frighten, humiliate, degrade and punish her”.

A panel of judges ruled that a sheriff’s decision to not impose a custodial sentence on a man convicted of repeated domestic abuse offences was not ‘unduly lenient’.

As of 1 April 2019, new legislation has come into force that criminalises psychological domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour.

The Scottish Government has released a new report that highlights the characteristics of victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse acts in Scotland. During the 2017-18 period, 59,541 incidents of domestic abuse were recorded by the police in Scotland; an increase of one per cent on 2016-17.

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has announced its support of the general principles set out in the Scottish Government’s Domestic Abuse Bill.