BBCA woman whose ex-partner was convicted of raping and assaulting her says she will be less protected when he is released from prison later this year than she was before the trial.
Amelia Price told BBC News her abuser was under bail conditions before his conviction but she now faces the “terrifying prospect” he might be able to legally contact her once he has served his sentence.
The 27-year-old is calling for non-harassment orders (NHO) to be mandatory in certain domestic abuse-related cases after the judge chose not to impose one on her abuser.
In a letter to Ms Price the Scottish government said ministers did not think mandatory NHOs would be appropriate in every domestic abuse case.
The Judicial Office for Scotland said judges carefully consider the facts and circumstances of each case when making decisions on non-harassment orders.
Ms Price’s former partner was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2021 and sentenced to more than four years in prison. He is due to be released later this year.
The judge in the case was required under law to consider a non-harassment order but Ms Price was told he did not impose one because her abuser had not contacted her since she reported him and she no longer lived in Scotland.
Ms Price said that was really difficult to accept.
“For me the only facts and circumstances that should matter was that this man was convicted of abusing (raping and assaulting) me by a jury,” she said.
“The fact he has been sentenced to time in custody offers me very little long-term and I find myself less protected than I was the day I reported him.”
Ms Price said the reason she left Scotland was because of the trauma of what happened to her but added that she still spends a reasonable amount of time in the country and would like the option to return in future.
She also pointed out that her ex-partner was under bail conditions in the lead up to the trial to deter him from contacting her but will not be under those restrictions after he is released.
Waived her anonymity
She told the BBC she does not want to criticise any individual judge but she is critical of the system that allowed the decision to be made.
Ms Price has now waived her anonymity and is lobbying the justice secretary and MSPs to change the law to make non-harassment orders mandatory in sexual offence and domestic abuse cases where the perpetrator is a partner or ex-partner and the victim wants an NHO.
The former Edinburgh University student has spent years researching the subject.
Since 2019 there has been an automatic requirement for the court to consider whether to grant an NHO in cases involving domestic abuse.
One of her freedom of information requests revealed that in recent years non-harassment orders had been imposed in less than 50% of domestic abuse cases or offences where domestic abuse was a factor.
We don’t know how many of the victims in those cases wanted an NHO.
Ms Price said protecting victims must be a priority.
“If we are to exist in a system where victims who report domestic abuse are left no better protected than the day they report it, there’s no incentive for them to report it,” she said.
“I would suggest that the conviction rate will stay as low as it is and no progress will be made until they are made to feel safe.”
Ms Price said she felt that staying silent about the problem would make her complicit.
She said there were so few people who secure rape convictions to “sound the alarm” and give an “unfiltered view of how dire and unjust the system is” for victims.
“I certainly wouldn’t report again and I think if I had a friend or family member that found themselves in the same position that I did in 2019 I wouldn’t encourage them to come forward either,” she said.
She added that the only thing the justice system had provided her with was further trauma.
“The day the verdict came back the thing that people would say to me was ‘It’s over, It’s finished’. And yet that sentencing was in 2021. We’re now in 2025 and it is still so far from over,” she said.
‘Absolutely deplorable’
When Ms Price complained to the Crown Office about aspects of her case she received a letter stating that if she was concerned she “might find it helpful to obtain independent legal advice about the possibility of seeking a civil non-harassment order”.
She said the idea that she should have to pay for legal advice to protect herself after going through the justice system was “absolutely deplorable”.
Rape Crisis Scotland chief executive Sandy Brindley said the system must change.
She said: “When someone has the courage to report a sexual offence and go through what can be a difficult legal process, the least the system should do is ensure their safety.
“Non-harassment orders should be automatic on conviction for any serious sexual offence.”
A spokesperson for the Judicial Office for Scotland said: “In deciding whether or not to impose a non-harassment order, judges will carefully consider the Crown motion and any submissions made to the court by the defence, as well as the particular facts and circumstances of the case in question.”
Dr Emma Forbes, procurator fiscal for domestic abuse at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COFPS) said: “I acknowledge that Ms Price feels let down and have offered to meet with her to further discuss her concerns.
“COPFS is committed to improving our services by carefully listening to victims, witnesses and survivors.
“Scotland’s prosecutors take domestic abuse and sexual violence very seriously and urge anyone affected by this offending to report it.”
In a letter to Ms Price on Wednesday the Scottish government said: “Scottish ministers do not think it would be appropriate to go further and make the imposition of an NHO mandatory in every case.
“This is because there may be cases where the facts and circumstances are such that it is clear to the court that it is not necessary to make an NHO.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Our sympathies remain with Amelia Price for the anguish she has endured.
“Sentencing is a matter for the independent courts. The Domestic Abuse (S) Act 2018 introduced a mandatory requirement for the courts to consider imposing a non-harassment order in domestic abuse cases.”
