Looking ahead at 2026

2026 marks the fourth year of the DACA project. In this time the project has created:

A Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy Map 

To understand what DACA support looked like across Scotland in 2023, we created a ‘map’   of domestic abuse court advocacy provision. 

The Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy Standards 

We worked with lived expertise, those with professional experience and academics to create The Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy Standards 

The Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy Standards function as a means to:  

• Communicate what domestic abuse court advocacy is

• Foster a shared understanding of the potential for DACA Services

• Accredit DACA Services to ensure consistency and cohesion

An SQA-Accredited Training Unit 

To bring visibility and validity to the DACA worker role, we worked closely with criminal justice specialists to create a training package rooted in relevant knowledge, including survivors’ expertise. 

In the first year of delivery, beginning on 1st October 2024, we trained 52 DACA workers from 18 local authority areas in Scotland. 

Mentoring  Support 

We offer mentoring to support the creation of DACA Services in local authority areas without an existing service. In 2024 Grampian Women’s Aid  received mentoring support for a 5-month period before launching their DACA Service in Aberdeenshire in March 2025. It’s been a privilege to support them on their DACA journey. 

For 2026, as we enter our fourth year we will be focusing on

Accreditation   

 An accreditation framework is under construction.  It is our aim to ensure that Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy is offered across Scotland consistently, by safe and empowering services that support clients to feel heard and better able to engage with the justice process. 

In 2026 we hope to support existing DACA services evaluate how well they are meeting The Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy Standards, to learn how we can work together and support them to achieve accreditation in the coming years. We are looking forward to working alongside services and seeing where this next year takes us.  

SQA-Accredited Training  

We will be running the the three-day training course twice in 2026 and our aim is to train half of the DACA workforce by April 2027.    

Mentoring Support 

Throughout 2026, we will continue to support the creation of new DACA services. We will continue to work with services to build on their existing knowledge and skills.   

If you are a service interested in DACA mentoring, please click here and contact us at scotland@safelives.org.uk for further information. 

Please note you will be required to meet the following criteria: 

• Work to a gendered understanding of domestic abuse 

• Offer DACA support to everyone that meets the criteria in the specified area 

• Work towards The Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy Standards 

• Apply for accreditation in due course 

Wider Engagement 

We want to hear from you. If you have a question for the DACA Accreditation Team, or a suggestion for our work in 2026, get in touch.  We would love to hear from you.