Minister meets Compass Centre and Shetland Women’s Aid to learn about island challenges
Kirsten Oswald confirms Scottish Government’s commitment to tackle violence against women
A SCOTTISH Government minister has praised the life-changing work of Shetland’s support services after hearing about the barriers facing survivors of gender-based violence in island communities.
During a visit to The Compass Centre and Shetland Women’s Aid earlier this week, minister for victims and community safety Kirsten Oswald said she had learned a huge amount about the challenges women face in accessing justice.
Both organisations are facing exceptionally high demand for their services.
Oswald said she “couldn’t even begin” to express just how much she had “learned” from the meeting.
“This has been very useful for my job,” she said. “It’s given me a lot to think about in terms of all the work that’s been done here.”
She emphasised that the nature of need in Shetland differs from that in urban areas such as Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Oswald also stressed that some people in the isles still face lengthy journeys when seeking justice.
“It’s not just the travel; it’s the time away from work, considerations about who is all travelling in the same plane. There are some difficult issues to confront to even just get to court in the first place,” she said.
Another “pinch-point” for women in island communities was the increased risk of encountering perpetrators.
“There are real practical challenges if women come from a smaller community because you will be more likely to be in the same place [as the perpetrator] sometimes,” she said.
“There isn’t an easy fix to that, but that’s why we need to have these conversations so we can try and work through some of these challenges.”
The minister said a “commitment” had been made to tackle violence against women, with hopes this would lead to a reduction in offending.
Help keep Shetland’s news open to everyone
Good local journalism takes time, care and people on the ground. Membership helps us keep reporting the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read. Members get a weekly newsletter created especially for them, local ads only, and can bookmark stories and join the conversation in the comments.
Already a member? Sign in.
“We’ve seen the first minister take real leadership here, his commitment is very clear and that’s a commitment being made across government. That’s absolutely our focus.
“We all want to see the figures coming down and one of the things we have to confront is the nature of the harm is changing and the world around us is changing.”
Among the recent trends she believes need to be addressed is online content that negatively influences young men.
“The online space has amplified some of the harms, we need to be wrestling with that as well as what’s happening in our communities.
“Tackling misogyny as well as online harms is a really important part of how we deal with this.”
She said the work being carried out by The Compass Centre and Shetland Women’s Aid in schools to tackle such attitudes was an example of “really good practice”.
Oswald also believed legal aid provided to survivors of gender-based violence in the isles will play an important role in helping them access justice.
The Compass Centre managing director Debbie Sangster said she was “really grateful” to the minister and her team for visiting the centre.
“We are in a unique environment, so it was great to speak about that with the minister and share some case studies and the real tangible impacts and challenges.
“When a survivor takes the brave step to reach out to one of our organisations and if they choose to report to the police, that journey can be so much more impactful here.”
Shetland Women’s Aid chief executive Laura Stronach said both services have “fantastic teams” but there is potential to do “so much more” with sustainable funding in place.
“It needs to be recognised we are specialist services and we are supporting the most vulnerable and that has to be recognised in the funding that’s ringfenced for our services,” she insisted.
Both organisations stressed that it is becoming increasingly challenging to meet demand, with hundreds of survivors either receiving support or on waiting lists.
Sangster added: “It’s been positive to see the first minister’s commitment and the mention of violence against women across government.
“But what we’d really like to see now is positive action in terms of resourcing because we are not fully funded to meet the current demand we’ve got. That’s the bit that’s missing.”
Keep Shetland’s news open to everyone
Your membership helps us report the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read.
Already a member? Sign in.
