Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) refers to a range of actions that harm, or cause suffering and indignity to, women and children. These include (but are not limited to) physical, sexual and psychological violence in the family, general community or institutions; sexual harassment and intimidation at work and in public; commercial sexual exploitation; and so called 'honour based' violence, including dowry-related violence, female genital mutilation, forced and child marriages and 'honour' crimes.
This Self-Assessment Tool and Evaluation Framework takes a reflective look at key areas of policy and practice in Scotland from a domestic abuse-informed perspective. The tools can be used to engage key staff in a reflective process, viewing their own system through a domestic abuse-informed lens.
Domestic abuse in families often intersects with the substance abuse and/or mental health issues of one or more family members. The intersection of these issues is complex and diverse and spans case management, service delivery, and safety issues.
This guide offers a framework for:
Improving the assessment of how these issues intersect
This guide is a resource to assist family and friends in being an ally to survivors of domestic abuse. A positive first experience talking about the abuse can make the difference between safety and increased isolation and entrapment for a loved one.
Domestic violence perpetrator manipulation of systems is a critical problem that undermines responses to family violence and deeply impacts adult and child survivors in many ways. Perpetrators manipulate systems to bolster their own power and abuse and to control adult and child survivors further.
This report outlines the types of systems perpetrators may manipulate, how they may do this, and ways in which this behaviour can be addressed.
These resources are for men who are worried about their behavior toward their loved ones. The Choose to Change Toolkit describes a four-step process to assist men in developing strong, safe support networks to help them interrupt their violence and increase safety for other family members. It includes a professionals booklet, information for partners, and information for network contacts.
This Easy Read booklet explains CSE and how it can happen. It breaks down all the different types of CSE, the risks to women, and how to get support.
There is also a video version of this booklet.
This booklet is directly aimed at women involved in commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). It aims to help people to stay safe and know their rights. The booklet highlights the different risks women may face while selling or exchanging sexual activity, with safety tips and strategies.
The booklet is informed by the experiences of women who are or have been involved in selling or exchanging sex or images.
This report explores the intersections between women’s lived experience of learning disability and involvement in commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). It collected data and experiences from support staff in the learning disabilities and wider support sectors in order to understand the dynamics of learning disabled women's experiences of CSE. It also explores service responses and contains recommendations for future work.
This is an ASPire webinar from May 2025. Its theme is commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and human trafficking. It has sessions from Operation Begonia (Police Scotland and Scottish Government's collaborative approach to challenging demand for prostitution and supporting those with experience of it); the Women's Support Project (on making the links between CSE and other forms of violence against women and girls) and the TARA project (on human trafficking and exploitation in Scotland).
This downloadable six-page leaflet is in Easy Read format and sets out what domestic abuse is. It is for anyone experiencing domestic abuse, or who is worried about someone else. The leaflet also sets out many different ways in which people can get help around domestic abuse.
