Michele Burman

Between Two Stools? Responding to Young Women who Offend

This article traces the emergence of the ‘problem’ of violent and disorderly young female offenders in Scotland, against a broader background context of the politicization of youth crime and major changes in youth justice policy post-Devolution. It draws attention to the limited empirical evidence about this group, and challenges perceptions about the nature and scale of violent offending by young women. Young women offenders fall between two stools. Policy responses to youth offending focus primarily on young men (ignoring gender) and policies in relation to women offenders fail to differentiate between older and younger women (ignoring age). Perhaps even more so than adult female offenders, young female offenders are an invisible minority whose offending pathways and distinctive needs have gone largely undocumented and unaddressed.

Evidencing sexual assault: women in the witness box

Drawing on recent research conducted in Scottish criminal courts, this article discusses the evidencing of sexual crimes through victim testimony. Despite significant reforms, complainers in sexual offence trials still find the process traumatic; the amount of sexual evidence introduced into the trial has increased; and the nature of such evidence draws on pervasive and outmoded rape myths.

Specialist police units and the joint investigation of child abuse

The last ten years have witnessed a significant shift in the police response to investigations of child abuse. One of the most ‘visible’ manifestations of this shift has been the establishment of specialist units where children can be interviewed, medical examinations conducted and, in some cases, overnight accommodation made available to children and their non-abusive carers. The history of these units in Scotland is summarized in this article, together with a brief outline of their remit and some of the current issues facing them. A closer examination of the way in which Scottish units have responded to the issue of joint child abuse investigations with social workers is made, drawing on evidence from research conducted in Scotland.

The end of an era? - youth justice in Scotland

Scotland is a small jurisdiction, yet it has a distinctive criminal justice system with unique institutional arrangements and certain political and legislative structures, which render it academically and politically interesting. Unlike other jurisdictions which have adopted neo-liberal policies, Scotland remains committed to a welfare state ethos that is expressed in the continuing commitment to social work with offenders and the welfarism of its youth justice system. The Scottish youth justice system is based on a core set of welfarist principles which stem from the work of the Kilbrandon Committee which reported in 1964. A key strength of the Scottish system is that it has thus far managed to avoid the more punitive and incarcerative aspects of other jurisdictions (most notably England and Wales), yet some recent policy and legislative developments that have impacted on the management of young offenders and the delivery of justice can be seen to pose serious challenges to the core Kilbrandon ethos.

Reporting rape: victim perspectives on advocacy support in the criminal justice process

Concerns about the criminal justice response to rape have prompted the development of victim advocacy services across a range of jurisdictions, yet research evidence about the nature, meaning and value of advocacy remains limited. This article draws upon a study evaluating an innovative advocacy model introduced in Scotland to assist reporting rape to the police. Findings from interviews with nine victims highlight the importance of advocacy that is independent of statutory and criminal justice agencies. However, it is argued that this does not mitigate the need for specialization or reform in the criminal justice response to rape and, further, that the distinction between advocacy at an individual and societal level represents a false dichotomy.

High hopes? The gender equality duty and its impact on responses to gender-based violence

From 2007 until 2011, legislation in the form of the Gender Equality Duty (GED) required public bodies in Britain to take gender equality into consideration in all their policies and services. This article traces the development and implementation of the GED in Scotland, following a period of constitutional reform. It outlines its scope and focuses on its perceived potential as a policy tool for driving practical and cultural change in the way public bodies, particularly those responsible for the delivery of criminal justice, respond to gender-based violence. In so doing, it highlights the distinctive approach taken to gender-based violence in Scotland, and argues that despite some evidence of mainstreaming, the real potential for change afforded by the (short-lived) GED was never fully realised.

Aligning policy and law? The creation of a domestic abuse offence incorporating coercive control:

Since 2000, the Scottish Government has adopted a gendered definition of domestic abuse which explicitly positions it as both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality. Following the launch of a new strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls, the Scottish Government announced proposals to create, for the first time, a bespoke offence of domestic abuse, designed to encompass the spectrum of abusive acts that constitute domestic abuse, including emotional and psychological abuse. The new offence is intended to better reflect the experience of victims subject to coercive control, improve the criminal justice response and facilitate access to justice. It represents one of the most radical attempts yet to align the criminal justice response with contemporary policy and feminist conceptual understanding of domestic abuse as a form of coercive control. Drawing on feminist scholarship which has interrogated the value of law reform, we critically assess the scope of the legislation, the likely challenges associated with its use in the Scottish context, and the potential for unintended consequences.

Getting It Right for Every Child? Juvenile Justice in Scotland

The aim of every juvenile justice system should surely be to get it right for every child? It is poignant then that, after a very turbulent period of juvenile justice policy development in Scotland which threatened to get it wrong for many children, the Scottish system is now predicated on a set of principles enshrined in law that are explicitly known as Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC). This chapter provides a brief history of juvenile justice in Scotland before going on to examine the age of criminal responsibility (which currently stands at 8 years) and how this fits with the country’s stance towards the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It then provides an overview of trends in juvenile crime in Scotland, focusing mainly on the last decade, from a range of sources of information. It examines the role played by various agencies in relation to juveniles, including the police, the courts and the prison system, as well as discussing various alternative sanctions. Finally, it discusses some of the main gender differences in juvenile crime and justice system involvement in the Scottish context.