A qualitative exploration into staff perceptions of barriers faced by domestic abuse victims in engaging with the criminal justice system in Scotland

Despite a current focus on prosecuting domestic abuse (DA) cases in Scotland, there remains a disparity between newly implemented legislation and the engagement of domestic abuse victims (DAV). There are numerous barriers that DAV face when engaging with the criminal justice system (CJS). Additionally, there are currently no studies utilising Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Staff (COPFS) to assess DAV engagement with the criminal justice system. The current study aims to address this gap through utilising the observations of Glasgow COPFS staff on the engagement of DAV and their perceptions of the barriers DAV face. A qualitative research design was employed, conducting semi-structured interviews with six COPFS staff in Glasgow.Thematic analysis identified four potential themes: psychological barriers, access to support, perceptions of the CJS, and overcoming barriers. The study findings suggest more protections and resources may be required to increase DAV engagement in the CJS. Organisationally, staff burnout could be addressed, and greater training could be considered. Furthermore, positive staff interactions and raising awareness to increase understanding were identified as means of overcoming the barriers to engagement. Although it should be noted this paper has a limited sample and thus recommendations are tentative.