Prevention of Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill

Overview

Pam Gosal MSP is proposing a new law to help prevent domestic abuse in Scotland. 

The Criminal Justice Committee is seeking views on the proposed new law called the Prevention of Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill.

Those views will inform the Committee’s scrutiny.

About the Bill

In summary, the Bill would: 

• Introduce notification requirements for certain people convicted of domestic abuse offences, as there are currently for registered sex offenders. People would have to inform the police of things like their address or details of their passport. They would be managed through existing multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). 
• Give the courts the power to order an assessment of the suitability of certain people convicted of domestic abuse to take part in rehabilitation or behaviour change programmes. 
• Place a data collection duty on Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and charities working with victims of domestic abuse, and an annual reporting duty on the Scottish Government. 
• Require schools to provide education on domestic abuse and healthy relationships as part of the curriculum. 

Read more background information about the Bill

Who we would like to hear from

MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee are now considering the details of these proposals. 

We welcome responses from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including:

• Victim-survivors of domestic abuse
• Family members
• Those with professional experience
• Any other stakeholders with an interest in the prevention of domestic abuse

How to contribute

The question areas summarise the main proposals in the Bill. For more detailed information, you may wish to read the Policy Memorandum and Explanatory Notes, which have been published alongside the Bill. 

You do not need to answer every question. 

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots, or any other language. 

The Call for Views closes on 15 September 2025.

Analysis

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) will prepare a summary and analysis of responses.

If we receive a very high volume of submissions, this may need to be prepared based on a sample of submissions.

Confidentiality and publication of responses

Please let us know if you wish your response to remain confidential. You can also ask for your submission to be anonymised.

We aim to publish all the submissions we receive. The only exceptions are where submissions are made on a “confidential” or “not for publication” basis. 

If we receive a very high volume of submissions, we may not have the resources to process and publish them all.

Important notes 

Your views and experience are an important part of how the Scottish Parliament works. When you give us evidence, we use it to help shape our scrutiny of proposed new laws. 

Please read our guidance on making a submission. It contains important information about what you can include in your submission, and explains the limited situations where we may ask you to make changes. 

The Scottish Parliament will not publish defamatory or offensive statements. We are aware that some of the language around domestic abuse, including how victims/survivors and perpetrators are described, can be deeply personal and contested. Unless the language used is defamatory or gratuitously offensive, we will not remove specific terms and will not respond to requests for submissions to be altered after publication.