Justice Denied: Women 'trapped in own homes' as Scotland's marginalised hit hardest by justice disruption
Problems have been compounded by the legal aid crisis and cost-of-living pressures
The disruption wrought across Scotland’s criminal justice system by the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on marginalised communities across the country, a human rights organisation has claimed.
Just Right Scotland, a legal charity that uses the law to defend and extend the rights of people, said the extensive backlogs and delays in case processing due to Covid-19 had far-reaching consequences that were still being felt today, with increased gaps in access to justice an ongoing problem.
The organisation said the victims of gender-based violence, children, migrants and disabled people were hit particularly hard by the upheaval to the justice system, which led to pre-existing inequalities being exacerbated.
Just Right Scotland’s senior associate solicitor Lyndsay Fleming said: “Covid-19 significantly disrupted the operation of both criminal and civil justice processes, increasing gaps in accessing justice for the most marginalised communities across the country. This has been exacerbated by the current legal aid crisis and the cost-of-living crisis.
“Some women have told us that they wanted to withdraw from their process because they felt unable to cope with the uncertainty. Others said to us that they felt trapped in their own homes when perpetrators were able to video call inside of their homes due to child contact arrangements.”
The issue of women seeking to abandon their pursuit of justice has been detailed by The Scotsman as part of Justice Denied, its ongoing series scrutinising pressures in the justice system. Both Rape Crisis Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid said they were aware of victims seeking to discontinue criminal cases as a result of the lengthy ways, which compound the trauma they were experiencing.
One survivor told Rape Crisis Scotland: “I used to save lives and now I consider taking my own life on a frequent basis. Being stuck in a system that favours the accused, with little or no information on what is happening next, is no way to live.”
Ms Fleming, who gave evidence on Friday at the Scottish Covid-19 inquiry’s justice impact hearings, said Just Right Scotland was also extremely concerned about shortfalls in legal aid provision given the impact on women and their pursuit of justice.
“During the pandemic, we have also experienced an unprecedented increased demand for our legal surgeries and saw increasing numbers of women contacting us who were eligible for legal aid, but could not find a solicitor to represent them,” she said.
“People at risk should not face barriers in accessing important protection. Yet we are aware from our experience of women contacting our outreach services, that many women in desperate need of a protective order have been unable to raise a court action if they do not qualify for legal aid and additionally may choose not to pursue such an action if they are required to pay a contribution.”
Ms Fleming told the inquiry: “Survivors are reporting to us that they have to call anywhere between 30 to 50 solicitors to find someone to provide them with representation for child contact or protective orders, and it’s almost impossible to find a solicitor doing divorce under legal aid.”