Violence against women and girls remains one of Scotland’s most serious public policy and service delivery challenges. It affects justice, policing, health, housing, education, employers, councils, social work, children’s services, digital safety and the specialist support services women and children rely on.
This conference will examine what Scotland needs to do next to make Equally Safe real in practice. It will consider prevention in schools and communities, online misogyny, domestic abuse, sexual violence and justice responses. It will also address the role of housing and financial support, trauma-informed recovery, workplace responsibilities and public-body accountability.
The Scottish Government and COSLA’s Equally Safe strategy was refreshed in 2023. It set out a national ambition to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls, strengthen support services, and improve justice responses for victims and perpetrators. The current delivery plan covered summer 2024 to spring 2026. A March 2026 progress report highlighted work including the £1.5 million Fund to Leave, opened for referrals in February 2026 to help women and children meet essential costs when leaving an abusive partner.
The issue is also politically live after the 2026 election. During the previous Parliament, ministers proposed adding sex to Scotland’s hate crime framework, while campaigners and political parties continued to debate whether Scotland should have a specific misogyny offence.
Across the morning, sessions will look at the points where policy often succeeds or fails. These include early prevention, safe routes out of abuse, survivor support, digital harms, justice reform, workplace responsibilities and whether public bodies can show that strategies are changing outcomes for women and girls.
Bringing together government, councils, police, health, education, specialist support organisations, legal experts, academics, unions and workplace voices, the conference will help delegates understand how prevention, protection, justice and recovery can be strengthened across Scotland.
This online conference will focus on three themes:
Topics the conference will explore
Who should attend
This conference will be relevant to:
Professional Officer
Scottish Association of Social Work
National Lead for Domestic Abuse
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)
Prevention Manager
Rape Crisis Scotland
Head of Equally Safe at Work
Close the Gap
Susan Dobson
Professional Officer
Scottish Association of Social Work
As one of our two Professional Officers who act as a link between our policy work, the profession and our work to support members, Susan leads on anti-racism in social work, National Social Work Agency (NSWA) Leadership & Culture, Public Protection and Getting it Right for Everyone (GIRFE). All our Professional Officers are registered social workers.
Susan has 2 kids and loves live music, cinema and days at the beach.
Dr Emma Forbes
National Lead for Domestic Abuse
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)
Dr Emma Forbes joined COPFS in August 2000.
Over more than two decades with COPFS, she has developed deep expertise in prosecuting gender-based violence, sexual offences, and domestic abuse. She previously spearheaded specialized initiatives, including leading the COPFS Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry Review Team.Academic Accomplishments: Dr Forbes completed her PhD at the University of Glasgow through the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR). Her doctoral thesis evaluated victim-survivors' interactions with the Scottish criminal justice process. She was subsequently awarded a Scottish Justice Fellowship to help translate her academic findings into actionable government policies.
In 2021, she published 'Victims' Experiences of the Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Abuse: Beyond GlassWalls'. She also founded "Glass Walls Art," a stained-glass art installation that visually represents the lived experiences of domestic abuse survivors.
Following a specialized secondment, she was officially appointed as the COPFS National Lead for Domestic Abuse in December 2023. In this role, she oversees strategic prosecution policies, represents COPFS on the Scottish Government's Victims Taskforce, testifies before Parliamentary committees and regularly represents Scotland’s trauma-informed approach to coercive control at international justice conferences.
Niamh Kerr
Prevention Manager
Rape Crisis Scotland
Niamh is an experienced practitioner in gender-based violence prevention, education and providing specialist crisis support to survivors of sexual violence.
She is skilled in partnership working, project management, training and development. Niamh is a strong communicator, passionate about using her skills to promote inclusion and equality.
Kelsey Smith
Head of Equally Safe at Work
Close the Gap
Kelsey runs Close the Gap’s employer accreditation programme, Equally Safe at Work.
She works with employers in the public and third sector to develop gender-sensitive employment practice. Kelsey engages with a range of stakeholders including employers, violence against women organisations and partner organisations to strategically link work on violence against women to addressing women’s labour market and economic inequality.
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