MSP's trauma drives colleague's fight against domestic violence

The Mid Fife and Scotland MSP is now among MSPs backing Ms Gosal’s bid to create a register of offenders convicted of domestic abuse, akin to that for sexual offenders, which she hopes will prevent violent partners preying on new victims.

Under the plans, offenders would be required to tell their employers, landlords and healthcare staff about their offending and update police and councils when they move home, job or get a passport. The bill would also introduce mandatory education on the issue of domestic abuse into schools.

Mr Stewart said his mother endured the abuse and eventually found the courage to leave her abusive husband taking her three young children with her.

Scottish Conservative MSP Alexander Stewart.

“Although domestic violence is a global and a Scottish issue, it is, for me, a personal one,” Mr Stewart told the debate to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

“As a three-year-old child, I witnessed the devastation and traumatic impact of the violence to which my mother was subjected by my father, and that has never left me.

“She accepted the abuse for years and blamed herself, before she had the courage to take her three small children out of that situation before she became a statistic and lost her own life.

Mr Stewart's father has since died.

Ms Gosal, pictured below, praised her colleague for speaking out about the painful experience in Holyrood last year.

“I think everyone was touched by how heartfelt some of the contributions were [in that debate],” she told the Herald on Sunday.

“This issue clearly means so much to all those who spoke in the debate, and this was especially true of my colleague Alexander Stewart, who bravely spoke of his experiences as a three-year-old child, having to witness his mother being subjected to violence at the hands of his father.

“He made the point that many women in these situations find it hard to leave an abusive partner or relationship. While it may seem like the obvious thing to do from the outside, in reality this is something that takes great courage.”

New proposal

Ms Gosal unveiled her plans at the Scottish Conservatives' conference in March and in August launched a 12 week public consultation on her proposal for a member’s bill.

She told the Herald on Sunday it is her mission to get the legislation through parliament during the current session.

The MSP requires the support of 18 MSPs, including at least three from different parties (Tories, SNP, Labour or the Scottish Greens) for her Domestic Abuse Prevention Bill to be introduced in Holyrood. She is confident of reaching that threshold after taking soundings from across the parliamentary chamber.

“My proposed bill is above party politics,” she said.

“These proposals have the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives, and it is clear from early discussions that there is a willingness to work cross-party on this issue.

“As such, I am confident my proposed bill will receive the support it requires to progress through parliament further.”

Holyrood has previously seen a former MSP jailed for a series of attacks on members of his family.

Bill Walker was sentenced to 12 months in prison in 2013 for assaulting three former wives and a step-daughter.

The ex SNP MSP was found guilty of 23 charges of domestic abuse after a two-week trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

He was found to have assaulted all three ex-wives as part of a catalogue of violence going back nearly thirty years.

The attacks included punches, kicks and slaps and also involved him hitting his then teenage step-daughter over the head with a saucepan.

Walker was a repeat offender and while Ms Gosal declined to comment on his crimes, she said her proposal should prevent offenders going from one partner to another to carry out abuse.

Survivors’ voices

Ms Gosal has been discussing her proposed bill with organisations supporting victims and survivors as well as women and men who had personally experienced domestic abuse. She said most of the responses to date were positive.

Ms Gosal was the first Sikh MSP when she was elected to Holyrood in 2021, and if her bill is passed it would also require the Scottish Government to look at access to domestic abuse services for under-represented communities.

She has previously stressed that she was seeking to “expand awareness of domestic abuse and access to services for those in need, particularly in BAME communities where I know that, too often, domestic abuse goes unpunished”.

Details are still being examined about how long an offender would remain on the new register, though Ms Gosal believes the most serious perpetrators, those convicted of murder or rape, should remain on the register for life.

Police Scotland recorded 65,251 incidents of domestic abuse in 2020-21, an increase of 4 per cent on the previous year and the fifth year in a row the number of incidents has risen.

Ms Gosal's proposals follow her own personal experiences growing up Glasgow where her mother and father regularly supported women who had been abused by their husbands and who came to her parents’ shop for help.

And she revealed that since she made her plans public she has been contacted by people across society, including at the Scottish Tory spring conference, affected by domestic abuse.

“When I go to events I am quite surprised about the people who come up to me and who were domestically abused,” she said.

“We look at person and we think: ‘Very good job. Very articulate. Knows how to stand up for themselves and do a debate. But they come up and whisper in your ear. That’s what I got when I announced this.

“At conference I got whispers saying ‘by the way my mum and dad are doing this. I watched it and I didn’t think it was right. Thanks Pam for bringing it out.’”

She added: “Domestic abuse doesn’t have a face, doesn’t have a character. And it doesn’t have a personality. It could be anybody and anywhere.

“You could be the most confident person and you could be domestically abused at home. You could be a very popular person and you could be a domestic abuser.”

To date she has yet to establish how much the register would cost the police and local authorities to operate.

However, she revealed that in a meeting with Keith Brown last month the Justice Secretary indicated resources would be available if he government decided to back her scheme.

Funding vital

THE West of Scotland MSP said a meeting with Mr Brown had gone well and that any extra funding needed for council and the police to implement the scheme would not be a block.

“For this to work there has to be resources and I didn’t hide that from him,” she said.

“What was really good to hear was he was quite welcoming that [resources] would not be a deterrent.”

She added: “We will have to see what happens but I would take it as a positive that victims and survivors will not be put on the backfoot because the government does not want to put the money in.

“He said if it is needed, he will back it.”

Scottish Lib Dem justice spokesman Liam McArthur said: “With cases of domestic abuse increasing, it is right to look at whether there are areas in which legislation and services could be improved.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats will study Pam Gosal’s proposals in detail and discuss with stakeholders how this legislation could be used to plug gaps in the existing legal framework.”

The Scottish Government has insisted it is committed to enhancing protection for victims of domestic abuse while offering better access to support.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Cabinet Secretary met with Pam Gosal last month to learn more about her proposal for a Member’s Bill to establish a Domestic Abuse Register in Scotland.

“Mr Brown reiterated he would be happy to consider any proposals that further our commitment to do more for victims of domestic abuse, where these are evidence-based and complement and enhance our current programme of work.”