The Scottish Government

1973

• Edinburgh and Glasgow Women's Aid groups open the first refuges for 'battered women' in Scotland

1975

• Parliamentary Select Committee on Violence in the Family agrees refuge provision target of 1 space per 10000 population

1976

• Glasgow Rape Crisis Centre (GRCC) opens
• Scottish Women's Aid (SWA) opens national office

1978

• Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) opens

1981

• Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 - allows women to have abusive partner excluded from the matrimonial home.
• Scottish rape crisis centres submit joint response to Scottish Law Commission Memorandum on laws of Evidence, calling for an end to sexual history questioning.

1982

• Hemat Gryffe Women's Aid - first refuge in Scotland for Asian women
• Incest survivors' groups start in Edinburgh and Glasgow
• Sexual Abuse of Girls conference in Glasgow
• Incest Fact and Myth - Sarah Nelson
• First paid worker employed by Glasgow Rape Crisis Centre
• Duffy v HMA - Lord McCluskey allows prosecution of a man for raping his estranged wife.
• Scottish rape crisis centres attempt to pursue a Private Member's Bill to restrict sexual history evidence questioning - unsuccessfully.

1983

• Chambers and Millar - Investigating Sexual Assault
• Women's Support Project set up in east end of Glasgow by Strathclyde (formerly Glasgow) RCC
• ERCC first involvement in local police training
• First joint meeting of Scottish Rape Crisis Centres

1984

• Strathclyde Action Against Incest and Child Sexual Abuse set up

1985

• Chambers and Millar - Prosecuting Sexual Assault
• Scottish Office Guidelines to Chief Constables on the treatment of rape victims
• Law Reform Misc Prov (Scotland) Act 1985 - section 36 restricts use of sexual history evidence in sexual offences trials
• Scottish Action Against Incest conference in Stirling
• Edinburgh Action Against Incest sets up helpline run 'by survivors for survivors'.

1987

• Scottish Women's Liberation Conference, Working Against Violence Against Women, in Glasgow 12/13 September. 300 women attended, and 150 children

1988

• Scottish Office commissions research on use of sexual history evidence
• Shakti Women's Aid opens refuge for black and minority ethnic women (Edinburgh)

1989

• Stallard v HMA sets precedent - rape in marriage confirmed as a crime in Scotland

1990

• Women's Support Project/ Evening Times survey on Violence Against Women, Glasgow. 1503 women responded.

1991

• 'Dawn raids' by social workers and police in Orkney; ritual abuse hits the headlines in Scotland
• WSP report - links between child sexual abuse and domestic violence
• CoSLA Working Group on Women and Violence agrees refuge provision target of 1 space per 7,500 population

1992

• 'Sexual history evidence in Scottish sexual offence trials' - research published (Brown, Burman and Jamieson)
• Report of the Orkney Inquiry
• First paid worker employed by Edinburgh RCC
• Zero Tolerance campaign launched by Edinburgh District Council Women's Unit

1993

• WSP registers as independent charity.
• 'Judy' - Conservative Party activist and survivor of sexual assault addresses Scottish Conservative Party conference - the impact of the personal on the political

1994

• 'Talking Sense - a guide to women's safety' - Scottish Office
• April - Dundee RCC employs first paid worker to set up a young women's project
• Rape crisis centres in Scotland formally constitute as the Scottish Rape Crisis Network (SRCN)
• SRCN training pack produced

1995

• Hit or Miss report on domestic violence (Tayside)
• Rape Crisis and Women's Aid deliver training on domestic violence to all social workers in Tayside.
• Central Region funds a 6 month worker to set up a rape crisis centre
• Beijing Platform for Action
• 'Excuses', the second Zero Tolerance campaign, launched in Edinburgh.

1996

• Ritual abuse resource pack produced by Dundee/Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centres
• SRCN runs TV ad over Christmas/New Year - phone records demonstrate that only 10% of calls to RCCs get through.

1997

• Young Women's Project - consultation with 1000 young people in Dundee
• SRCN conference, Dundee
• 'Hitting Home - a report on the police response to domestic violence'
• 'SNAP report on domestic violence'
• 'Hidden Figures: the Edinburgh women's safety survey'
• 'Service provision to women experiencing domestic violence in Scotland' - Scottish Office
• Protection from Harassment Act 1997
• Rape and sexual assault leaflet - Scottish Office (date?)

1998

• CoSLA 'Guidance on developing multiagency partnerships to tackle violence against women'
• 'wee vip project' - abuse prevention for pre-school children piloted in Edinburgh and Dundee
• 'Preventing Violence Against Women' - consultation, Scottish Office
• Evaluation of Castlemilk Demonstration Project.
• November - first meeting of Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse

1999

• EVA Project established in North Lanarkshire - first multi-disciplinary project to be set up in NHS in Scotland to address violence against women.
• Routes Out Of Prostitution established in Glasgow as a thematic Social Inclusion Partnership.
• Cross Party Group on Men's Violence Against Women and Children established
• Scottish Parliament debates domestic abuse for the first time - Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund announced

2000

• Publication of National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland
• Scottish Executive convenes National Group on Domestic Abuse
• Cross Party Group on Survivors of Sexual Abuse established

2001

• Rape Crisis, Glasgow, funded by GGHB to set up SWAP - Supporting Women Abused in Prostitution.
• Lord Advocate's reference on the definition of rape leads to clarification of Scots law that rape is based on an absence of consent, and does not require the use or threat of force.
• Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001
• First parliamentary debate on child sexual abuse

2002

• Rape Crisis, Glasgow, seeks judicial review of Home Secretary's decision to allow Mike Tyson, a convicted rapist, to enter Scotland to take part in a boxing match.
• A young woman kills herself after giving evidence in a rape trial. Her parents condemn the ordeal she was put through in court.
• Sexual Offences (Procedure and Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2002 prohibits the accused in sexual offence trials from conducting his own defence, and tightens the restrictions re use of sexual history/character evidence
• Scottish Rape Crisis Network funded by Scottish Executive to set up national office, Rape Crisis Scotland.

2003

• Margo McDonald MSP introduces Prostitution Tolerance Zones (Scotland) Bill
• Expert Group on Prostitution set up by Scottish Executive.
• Aberdeen Rape Crisis Centre employs first paid worker.
• Rape Crisis Network Europe report shows that conviction rate for rape in Scotland is 6% - one of the worst in Europe.
• Rape Crisis are involved in the training of judges for the first time
• Short Life Working Group on survivors of sexual abuse
• Scottish Executive research report on Refuge Provision
• SWA research report on Sustaining Tenancies
• Refuge Online launched by SWA - enabling local WA groups to access information on available refuge accommodation across Scotland
• Evaluation of Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act
• NHS Scotland Guidance on responding to domestic abuse

2004 (to March)

• Violence Against Women Service Development Fund established
• Scottish Executive announces £1.76million to develop rape crisis services
• Scottish Executive publishes Domestic Abuse Training Strategy