Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy over the last 20 years

In 2004, ASSIST began supporting clients in the Govan area of Glasgow as part of Scotland’s first Domestic Abuse Court. The pilot area grew and evolved to include all areas of Glasgow by 2008. 

EDDACS, part of Edinburgh Women’s Aid, set up to work alongside Edinburgh Domestic Abuse court in 2009.  Similar to ASSIST, their multi-agency steering group included criminal justice partners and the Judiciary. They identified a pilot area in the East of Edinburgh. 9 months later, EDDACS began supporting female clients Edinburgh City wide, eventually taking referrals from a wider area following the closure of Haddington Sheriff Court. 

In 2012 the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Team (DASAT) in West Lothian began offering domestic abuse court advocacy support as part of its service, this was to work alongside the dedicated domestic abuse court being piloted at Livingston Sheriff Court. The court brought together multi-agency working between COPFS, Police, Victim Support and DASAT. 

Also in 2012 the ASSIST service branched out to North and South Lanarkshire, Argyll and Bute, West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, and East, South and North Ayrshire. 2014 saw Domestic Abuse Advocacy Support (DAAS) in the Scottish Borders, establish a domestic abuse court advocacy service to support male and female clients in the Scottish Borders. 

In 2022, Dundee ASSIST was created, offering support to clients in Dundee. 

In 2023, ASSIST began offering support to clients in Dumfries and Galloway.