Thank you for joining this 16 Days of Action Spotlight event. It is great to see so many people here.

I am delighted to open today’s discussion on Scotland’s response to violence against women and girls, with a focus on Understanding Pet Abuse in Domestic Abuse and Coercive Control.

These Spotlight sessions shine a light on the critical issues we face as we work together to prevent and tackle violence against women and girls.

My name is Councillor Maureen Chalmers, and I am the Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities – better known as COSLA – the national voice of Scottish Local Government, representing all 32 councils.

COSLA jointly owns the Equally Safe Strategy with the Scottish Government. This strategy makes clear that all forms of violence against women and girls are both a consequence and a cause of enduring gender inequality. At COSLA, we are committed to tackling that inequality through leadership, policy design, decision-making, and scrutiny – advancing women’s access to resources and power, which we recognise as essential for equality and safety.

This year’s 16 Days theme, agreed nationally by Violence Against Women Partnerships, is “All Together to Prevent and End Violence Against Women and Girls.” It reflects a simple truth: 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.

Globally, the scale of male violence and abuse of women is staggering. Nearly one in three women worldwide – 840 million – have experienced partner or sexual violence in their lifetime. Progress has been painfully slow, with only a 0.2 percent annual decline over two decades.

The World Health Organisation reminds us:

“Violence against women is one of humanity’s oldest and most pervasive injustices, yet still one of the least acted upon. No society can call itself fair, safe, or healthy while half its population lives in fear.

”Here in Scotland, the challenge continues to grow in prevalence and complexity. In 2023–24, Police Scotland recorded 63,867 incidents of domestic abuse – an increase of 3 percent on the previous year. Eighty-one percent of these incidents involved a female victim and a male perpetrator who is a previous or current intimate partner, and almost 90 percent occurred in the ‘sanctity’ of home.

We know these figures are only the tip of the iceberg. Behind every statistic is a pattern of harm that often spans years. Domestic abuse is rarely a single incident. Victims often live under coercive control – a pattern of behaviour designed to strip away freedom and autonomy – long before circumstances become so dangerous that they reach out for help. Many do so only when the risk extends to others they love and have been trying to protect.

Victim-survivors face enormous barriers to seeking support, both in crisis and in recovery. And that brings us to today’s focus: the link between coercive control and pet abuse.

For many women and children, pets are family. They provide comfort, companionship, and emotional support. But for perpetrators, pets can become another tool of control – a way to instil fear, punish, and silence. Threatening or harming a beloved animal is not incidental; it is deliberate, and it deepens the victim’s isolation. For some women, it may feel safer to stay and manage the risks to loved ones – including pets – than to attempt to leave. And tragically, they may be right. This is the reality many women live with.

For local authorities and partners, including veterinary and animal welfare services, this means ensuring our systems are alert to these dynamics – from housing and refuge provision to safety planning and support for victim-survivors and their pets.

Here in Scotland, the law recognises that domestic abuse is not just physical violence – it includes patterns of coercive and controlling behaviour. Under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, behaviour that harms or threatens harm to a pet can constitute abusive behaviour when used to instil fear or control. Perpetrators may hide, injure, neglect, or even kill an animal to punish or silence a partner or manipulate children. This legislation makes clear that such behaviour is criminal because it is designed to cause psychological harm and deepen isolation.

Today’s discussion is an opportunity to consider how we might strengthen that response across the wider system ALL TOGETHER, working in collaboration –– so to make sure no woman must choose between her own safety and the safety of an animal she loves.

2nd December 2025