COVID-19 exacerbated challenges that already existed in the policing of domestic abuse in remote and rural northern Scotland. Victims’ direct access to the police and third-sector organisations was impeded by social distancing, while the pandemic exacerbated extant issues relating to staffing, particularly in relation to female police officers. On the positive side, the flexibility that already characterised rural and remote policing continued, and police officers and third-sector organisations worked together to support victims.
This event launches a short film and report related to a SIPR-funded project run by Robert Gordon University investigating the impact of the pandemic and lock-down on the policing of domestic abuse in remote, island and rural communities in northern Scotland and relationships with domestic abuse third-sector organisations.