Today, 10th December, marks International Human Rights Day and the final day of this year’s 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence. It is a day to reaffirm Scotland’s commitment to equality, dignity, and safety for everyone. For women, children, and all survivors of gender-based violence, this means the right to live free from harm.

But rights without resources to enable them, are empty promises.

As we set out in our recently launched budget campaign, ‘Strong Councils, Strong Communities’, COSLA is currently highlighting the need for a Local Government settlement of over £16 billion is needed to protect essential local services – including the meaningful prevention and tackling of Violence Against Women and Girls.

Local Government: The Hidden Backbone of Human Rights

Human rights are realised not in abstract treaties, but in everyday spaces - homes, schools, social care services, community centres and in the quality of our streets and parks where people live and enjoy their lives. Local Government is where rights become real.

Councils are on the frontline of Scotland’s obligations under the Istanbul Convention - the international treaty that sets standards for preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Every day, local authorities deliver:

• Protection for children and families through education, family support, social work and child protection.
• Support for survivors through housing, mental health, addiction, employability, and childcare services; and
• Accountability for perpetrators through justice functions and community interventions.

These responsibilities are not optional; they are human rights duties. The recent Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) report reminds us there is still work to do. Scotland is starting to respond to the report’s recommendations, and Local Government is a key partner in that work. But partnership needs investment.

Specialist Services Matter - But So Do Mainstream Services

Specialist Violence Against Women and Girls services save lives and must be sustainably funded. They are key to local efforts, but they do not and cannot exist effectively in a vacuum. They must be members of and have strong relationships with local authority Violence Against Women Partnerships, our Public Protection systems and more.

The Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning Specialist VAWG Services also reminds us: very many survivors never access specialist services. Instead, they turn to mainstream services including social work, housing, health, mental health, addiction support, and family services. Investment in strong co-ordinating partnerships and workforce development across Local Government and public services is therefore essential to uphold rights and stopping people falling through the cracks

. Justice and Accountability: Tackling Harm at Its Source

Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls means embedding values and behaviours that respect gender equality and tackling perpetrators head-on. Local Government and justice partners deliver perpetrator programmes, manage risk through multi agency responses, and support the broader work of community justice teams. These functions are vital to achieving the aims of Equally Safe, but they require capacity and sustainable funding to work effectively. Without sustainable investment in these services – and the support provided through child protection, mental health, and alcohol and drug services - we cannot meet the rising demand or growing complexities and deliver the integrated, long-term responses survivors need to establish safe lives.

Our Partnership with Scottish Government and Stakeholders

We value our shared ownership of the Equally Safe Strategy with Scottish Government and our collaboration with stakeholders from across the broader public sector and expert services. Together, we are working to advance progress towards the rights-based outcomes it promotes. But Local Government has specific and distinct needs to play its part. It requires fair, sustainable and multi-year funding to be able to invest in:

• Dedicated resource for Violence Against Women and Girls coordination at a local level
• Equipping the workforce across our services with the skills and capacity to strengthen gender and Violence Against Women and Girls competences.
• Sustainable justice functions and perpetrator programmes
• Additional resources to enable full integration across public protection systems

These asks are not about duplicating the vital work of specialist services or compromising their responses. They are about ensuring Local Government has the required resources and capacity to ensure that no victim- survivor is left behind, enabling councils to fulfil their human rights obligations and deliver the whole-system approach Scotland needs.

On International Human Rights Day and the final day of COSLA’s 16 Days of Action, let us be clear: tackling violence against women and girls is everyone’s business. No single service, sector, or system can end this abuse alone. It demands collective leadership, joined-up action, and a relentless focus on prevention – not just for 16 days, but every day of every year.

The current centralised, short term and competitive funding approach, for only one part of the required response, falls far short of delivering the investment needed to achieve the aims of Equally Safe. This leaves councils to absorb the hidden costs of associated harm caused and crisis interventions, stretching budgets and reducing capacity for prevention work that could stop violence and abuse before it happens.

Local Government is the foundation for resilient communities

By investing in Local Government, the Scottish Government can enable proactive prevention and sustainable responses to gender inequities and the harms they cause. COSLA’s message is clear: creating a Scotland where women, children, and all victim-survivors are safe means funding Local Government fairly and flexibly to achieve our shared aims.

As we look ahead to next year’s Scottish budget, we urge the Scottish Government to deliver a £16 billion boost in revenue to secure fair and sustainable funding for councils, and in so doing building a Scotland together where all forms of Violence Against Women and Girls are prevented, eradicated and that all people live lives that are Equally Safe.

10th December 2025