Terms of Reference – The prosecution of domestic abuse cases at sheriff summary level

1. Joint protocol between Police Scotland and COPFS – In partnership challenging domestic abuse (2019).

2. SCJS, Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2019/20: Main findings (2021). The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is a large-scale social survey run by the Scottish Government which asks people about their experience and perception of crime.

3. Scottish Government, Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2021-22 (November 2022).

4. COPFS, Domestic abuse and stalking charges in Scotland 2021-22 (September 2022).

5. SCTS, Quarterly Criminal Court Statistics – Bulletin 19 – Quarter 3 2022/23 (2023).

6. Scottish Government, Equally safe: Scotland's strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls (2018).

7. Scottish Government, The Vision for Justice in Scotland (2022).

8. COPFS, Strategic Plan 2023-27.

9. Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill: Policy Memorandum (2017) at paragraphs 3, 5 and 18.

10. COPFS, Statement of prosecution policy (2022).

11. Further information about the pilot is available in SCTS, The Summary Case Management Pilot – The transition from EPR and way forward (August 2022).

12. SCTS, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Quarterly Criminal Court Statistics – Bulletin 19 – Quarter 3 2022/23 (2023).

13. Such as N Lombard & K Proctor, Women's lived experiences of coercive control, stalking and related crimes, as they progress through the justice system (March 2023); Houghton et al, Domestic abuse court experiences research: the perspectives of victims and witnesses in Scotland (2023); Scottish Government, The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018: emerging findings of male victims' experiences of the criminal justice system (2023); and N Lombard, K Proctor & N Whiting, Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and the criminal justice system – Women's experiences two years in; the emerging findings (2022).