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I know that you are very passionate about this issue, Mr Macpherson. There is also one organisation in the BAME community that we have spoken about, and I know that you know the subject well.

You have said that 2022 to 2025 is a long time, but we are talking about the parliamentary process around bills. I have to thank the non-Government bills unit, which did a lot of work very quickly on this. It was important to me that, at every point between 2022 and 2025, I gave organisations and survivors opportunities to contribute.

Around twice a week, I get a phone call in my office from somebody asking me for help, and I pass them to the correct authorities or charities. People think that I am going to be a lifeline for them, and I hope that I am.

You are absolutely right that the committee is here to scrutinise legislation, and I am here so that you can do so. I am quite open minded today and I will take away all the feedback from committee members. I will also look at what else we can add to the bill when we get to the later stages.

You asked about the kind of engagement that I have carried out. I have done quite a lot, and I had a chance to meet—

At that time, because the bill was just shaping up, there was nothing official, but I spoke to him in the corridor, for example.

No, I am saying that the work should be done in consultation with them. My bill does not say who should provide that education; it sets out that the provision should be in place. I have put it in the bill that there must be consultation. Governments cannot make such decisions in isolation, just as teachers cannot make them alone. We need to get people to work together and to engage in consultation so that no one person makes a decision on how to tailor the programme.

I am not going to say what the programme should be called; I am simply calling it education. I have included that provision in the bill to ensure that it is available for all schools.

I will start, and then I will hand over to Agata Maslowska to answer on the cost side.

Education is key. Last week or the week before, I went to a conference at Beira’s Place, which was attended by people from Women’s Aid and many other organisations and professional bodies. I was shocked by what I learned about what is happening in schools. I was too busy worrying about domestic abuse among older women. That is because I grew up watching ladies who were a little bit older than me, who were experiencing domestic abuse. We all know what is going on in schools today. Coercive control of teens is happening. That horrific crime has spread into our schools, so when I—

I do not pretend to be an expert, but I can certainly say that there is a big problem out there. Coming from a BAME background, I am quite open to saying these things. When sons are born, they are put on a pedestal, and when females are born, people are not so happy. That does not happen in every household, but it starts in the house, and education comes into it. I will be honest—what I am trying to do is only part of the solution, but it is a big part.

The issue is to do with what happens as children are growing up. I can write to the committee with what an academic said to me in Dundee; I asked her about this. That academic has done a lot of work on behaviours and how people offend, and she said that education is key. If we tell someone from a young age that something is wrong and explain it to them, that will go in, but that cannot be done just one time—it must be repeated over time.

My proposal is part of the solution, but I am not going to say that I can wave a magic wand. I want parents to be responsible when they bring up their boys. I certainly know about that—I have two boys. When they go out at night, I tell them, “Be careful—don’t you harm anybody and don’t you say anything that hurts anybody.” If more mothers said that to their sons, instead of mothers saying to their daughters, “Take care” and “Be careful”, the world would be a better place.

The education provisions in my bill are only a part, but they are a big part—

I agree that I am at committee and that this is just the start of my bill process, so I am open to any suggestions. If you have suggestions in relation to the education part, I am open to those.

Good morning. I introduced the Prevention of Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill in May 2025, following the usual members’ bill process and with the support of the non-Government bills unit.

Growing up, I remember going into my mum’s shop in Argyle Street in Glasgow and seeing women crying, bleeding, bruised and very upset. At the time, I did not know what was happening. Later on in life, I realised that they were survivors of domestic abuse. Coming from black and minority ethnic communities, those women would rarely engage with authorities, so the extent of domestic abuse among them was not fully recorded or understood. To this day, I know many survivors who will not come forward because they think that the system is too weak, while the ones who do come forward often do not get the support that they need.

I am passionate about tackling domestic abuse, encouraging victims to come forward, making sure that survivors can trust the system that is in place to protect and support them and, ultimately, preventing further abuse.

Throughout my journey with the Prevention of Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill, I have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders and survivors of domestic abuse. Initial engagement meetings began in 2022. Later that year, the formal consultation took place, and 95 per cent of individual respondents were supportive of the proposed bill. Since 2024, I have held several extremely positive, one-to-one meetings with domestic abuse organisations to discuss the provisions in the bill.

Domestic abuse is a horrific crime. Last year, around 64,000 such incidents were reported to Police Scotland, and an estimated 65 per cent of suspected perpetrators had previously been involved in related incidents. Just yesterday, we found out that there has been a 26 per cent increase in crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, compared with 2023-2024. Those are shocking figures, and they increase year after year. However, they are not just statistics—they represent real people going through this horrendous crime.

The aim of my bill is to reduce the incidence of domestic abuse and tackle reoffending through a series of measures. Those include preventative measures, rehabilitation measures, increased data collection, long-term monitoring of those who are convicted of domestic abuse and early intervention through education measures.

Part 1 of the bill introduces notification requirements for domestic abuse offenders. They would work similarly to notification requirements for sex offenders, to ensure that domestic abuse offenders can be effectively monitored and subject to monitoring and management through existing multi-agency public protection arrangements, known as MAPPA. Better tracking, monitoring and management of the risk that is posed by serious domestic abuse offenders will not only tackle reoffending but act as a deterrent, sending the message that domestic abuse will not be tolerated in Scotland.

Liz Shanks, a survivor of domestic abuse who appeared on the BBC programme “Disclosure”, said:

“Pam is putting through a Bill for a domestic abuse register. Those who commit certain domestic abuse offences would be placed on a register, managed by Police Scotland, and would be forced to update the police whenever their circumstances change, meaning the police will be better equipped to keep victims safe. The Bill she’s working on is really key to what we, as survivors, want to see for many reasons.”

Part 2 of the bill requires consideration of whether a person who has been convicted of domestic abuse offences is a suitable candidate to take part in rehabilitation programmes to prevent reoffending. Provisions would ensure that every key phase of an offender’s passage through the criminal justice system includes an assessment of their suitability for the appropriate rehabilitation services.

Part 3 of the bill places a requirement on Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and charities to ask for vital information about victims of domestic abuse, including their age, sex, disability, ethnicity and much more. The domestic abuse statistics that the Scottish Government currently publishes do not include information on victims’ disability or ethnicity, nor is that data collected, but we know that individuals with certain protected characteristics might be more at risk of domestic abuse. My bill seeks to address that gap. Knowing which groups suffer from domestic abuse and engage with services is an important step in preventing domestic abuse. Those provisions received full backing from Scottish Women’s Aid at the consultation stage.

Finally, part 4 of the bill is intended to ensure the provision of domestic abuse education across Scotland as standard. That would ensure that young people grow up mindful of the harm that domestic abuse causes, and it would equip them with the knowledge to identify concerning behaviour throughout their lives.

In response to the consultation on my bill, Victim Support Scotland quoted one young victim, who summed up the impact of domestic abuse education by saying:

“I want to spread the message to others about awareness of domestic abuse, to get more folk to open up about it ... We need to educate children, go into schools, and tell them what domestic abuse is.”

Although I realise that the estimated cost of the bill is substantial, the financial cost to the Scottish public sector of domestic abuse is estimated to be £7 billion over a three-year average period of abuse.

More importantly, victims are being failed. Right now, Police Scotland receives a call about domestic abuse roughly every eight minutes—that rate is far too high. We must do more to tackle this appalling crime, and my bill provides us with a historic opportunity to do so. By adopting the measures that it sets out, Scotland can be a world leader in preventing domestic abuse and take a substantial step towards eradicating violence against women and girls once and for all.

I thank members for listening.

Yes, I did. I have also mentioned—I am happy to do this again in writing, as well—why each part of the bill requires to be in legislation.

No.

To go back to your question about whether my provision was modelled on the sex offenders register, I should say that it was not fully modelled on that. I listened to what survivors out there said that they wanted. The fact is that the onus is on them to contact authorities, when people should know whether someone is a dangerous domestic abuse offender. My bill started from that. I did not look at the 2003 act first; I listened to real-life experience. I also knew that the United Kingdom Government at the time was considering doing something on the issue, too. That is when I started looking into it a little bit more.

In relation to the sex offenders register or, should I say, the Sexual Offences Act 2003, I will pass over to Charlie on the technicalities.