A Highland MSP has called for specialised domestic abuse courts to be introduced in the north.
Such courts are already used in the central belt, particularly in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Highlands and islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant has called on the courts service to introduce them in the north, having consulted with a range of experts.
She said that specialised courts allow staff to be better prepared and trained for when they are presented with domestic abuse cases.
And Ms Grant also said that it would allow victims to be kept apart from the “intimidating” atmosphere of general court business.
She said: “Within our courts, on normal weekdays, you can see and meet people from all walks of life, who are there as either victims or accused for any number of assorted crimes.
“The atmosphere can be intimidating and as it stands, court staff, solicitors, procurator fiscals and indeed sheriffs and their clerks, can be dealing with persons involved in a road traffic case one minute, a vandalism the next and then they are dealing with a priority and sensitive crime such as domestic abuse, which frankly requires the consideration and management of people specially trained in dealing with such issues.”
“Within a domestic abuse court, most, if not all the staff, have the desired training, the system moves more efficiently, the supporting framework is more effective, the experts and the legal teams have that level of expertise, clearly this is where we need to be, but yet in the Highlands, islands and Moray there is no domestic abuse courts.”
Mrs Grant has now lodged parliamentary questions calling on the Scottish Government to support a roll-out of the initiative, saying she wants “positive change” for the north.
A spokesman for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said that they are committed to reducing waiting times for domestic abuse cases.
He added: “The Scottish Government has dedicated an additional £20 million over three years to be invested in a range of measures to tackle all forms of this type of violence.
“As part of this programme of work we are discussing with the Scottish Government as to how a model can be formulated and procedures established for the most efficient and victim-focused management of cases in Aberdeen and Inverness.
“We are focused on reducing waiting times for domestic abuse cases across all courts in Scotland and are currently providing trial diets within 10 weeks at all courts in Grampian, Highland and Islands.”
