Disclosure Scheme can help stop domestic abuse scourge

Police Scotland recently marked the ten-year anniversary of the Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland (DSDAS), and with this in mind, | thought this was a prudent time to make the communities of West Lothian aware of the important impact this scheme has had over the last decade.

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This is a hugely significant programme, which was launched in 2015 and allows people to request information about a partner's history of domestic abuse and violence.

Police Scotland can also proactively disclose this information if someone is considered to be at risk.

Since its introduction 35,847 applications have been submitted to the scheme and 19,867 disclosures (55%) have been given.

Before the DSDAS scheme, there was no formal way of an individual finding out if their partner had a previous history of abusive behaviour. And similarly, there was no mechanism for police to proactively tell individuals if their partner posed a risk to them.

The introduction of DSDAS has made significant changes and improvements to the violence against women landscape. It gives people the right to ask and police the right to tell individuals at risk of domestic abuse about the history of their partner. They can then make an informed decision about their relationship.