Tag: violence against women and girls

Iain Packer conviction: Police Scotland statement

‘Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005. For that we are sorry’. 

A 51-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering Emma Caldwell in 2005.
Iain Packer was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow today, Wednesday, 28 February, 2024, of killing the 27-year-old and hiding her body.

Emma was last seen on CCTV around 11pm on Monday, 4 April, 2005, walking alone on Butterbiggins Road towards Victoria Road on the southside of Glasgow. 

She was reported missing by her family on Monday, 11 April, 2005, and her body was found in Limefield Woods, near Biggar, on Sunday, 8 May, 2005.

Packer was also convicted of a number charges involving violent and sexual crimes against a number of women over many years.

He was today (Wednesday 28th February 2024) sentenced to life in prison and ordered to serve a minimum of 36 years behind bars.



Assistant Chief Constable for Major Crime and Public Protection Bex Smith said: “Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005. For that we are sorry.  
 
“A significant number of women and girls who showed remarkable courage to speak up at that time also did not get the justice and support they needed and deserved from Strathclyde Police. 
 
“Police Scotland launched a re-investigation of the case in 2015 after instruction from the Lord Advocate.  
 
“It is clear that further investigations should have been carried out into Emma’s murder following the initial enquiry in 2005. 
 
“The lack of investigation until 2015 caused unnecessary distress to her family and all those women who had come forward to report sexual violence.

“It is the courage, resilience and determination shown by Emma’s family, in particular her parents William and Margaret, and all those who survived Iain Packer’s horrific catalogue of offending that got us to where we are today. 
 
“William is, sadly, no longer here to see this day, but I hope this verdict gives Margaret and all those affected by this case, the justice they deserve. 
 
“This was an extremely challenging re-investigation and without doubt the largest police enquiry of recent times in Scotland. 
 
“Over seven years, a full review of the original enquiry by Strathclyde Police in 2005 was completed. 
 
“More than 30,000 documents and statements were gathered and reviewed along with in excess of 23,000 productions. New forensic tests were carried out and new witnesses were identified and interviewed, leading to the convictions today. 


 “Iain Packer was a calculating sexual predator who targeted women over many years. It is hard to comprehend how anyone could carry out such despicable, ruthless acts. 
 
“He took Emma’s life for his own gratification in the most appalling circumstances and cruelly left her body in remote woods hoping to cover his tracks. 
 
“But time is no barrier to justice and I would urge anyone who has been the victim of sexual violence to please come forward and speak to us. 
 
“You will be listened to and you will be supported – no matter when the offences took place. 
 
“We have reflected and learnt from the initial investigation and subsequent re –investigation.  Significant changes have been made in recent years to improve our organisational culture and our response, particularly in respect of investigative structures, victim care and processes to these types of crimes.  
 
“Our Violence against Women and Girls Strategy demonstrates our absolute commitment to tackling the violence and abuse that disproportionately affects women and girls.

“What shone through to the enquiry team throughout the investigations into Emma’s life was her gentle personality, and I want to finish by saying that our thoughts remain with Emma, her family and all those affected by this terrible case.”

The Scottish Conservatives called for a full Judge-led public inquiry into the case at First Minister’s Questions today (Thursday 29 February).

Both Scottish Labour and the Scottish Lib-Dems echoed the call.

Tackling violence against women and girls

Equally Safe strategy refreshed

A national strategy to prevent and address all forms of violence against women and girls has been renewed to build on recent progress.

Equally Safe, a joint strategy with COSLA, was first published in 2014, and is backed by the Delivering Equally Safe Fund that is providing £19m per year to support 121 projects from 112 organisations.

One significant milestone reached, supported by the strategy’s aims, saw the Domestic Abuse Act passed by Parliament in 2018, which created a specific offence of domestic abuse that covers physical and psychological abuse as well as coercive and controlling behaviour.

Published today during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, the refreshed strategy is focussed on increasing collaboration across sectors to tackle the attitudes and values that result in violence against women and girls.

A delivery strategy will be published next Spring and will set out further actions to achieve that goal.

Victims Minister Siobhian Brown said: “Violence against women and girls has no place in our society. The impact of violence is wide-ranging and can have a long-term lasting effect on the lives of those affected, their families and communities. 

“This refreshed strategy builds on progress made to date in raising awareness of the prevalence and harmful effects of violence against women and girls, strengthening the law, and providing support and resources to public and third sector workers helping those affected. 

“Our Delivering Equally Safe Fund focusses on early intervention and prevention, as well as support services and I am pleased that around 32,000 adults and children benefitted last year.

“There remains work to do and sustained action is needed. That is why our future vision focuses on finding opportunities to work collaboratively and constructively whenever possible to stamp out violence wherever we see it and preventing it happening in the first place.” 

COSLA’s Community Wellbeing Spokesperson, Councillor Maureen Chalmers said:  “For nearly a decade, COSLA and the Scottish Government have worked in partnership to eradicate violence, abuse and exploitation of women and girls from Scotland.

“Our collaborative efforts have been undertaken with specialist services, public sector organisations, and local authorities. These have propelled us forward in building a more equal and safer Scotland for everyone.

“These firm foundations have allowed us to refresh the Equally Safe Strategy. It emphasises the importance of prevention, collaborative leadership, and reaffirms the unwavering commitment from both local and Scottish governments to achieve our shared goals.”

 The refreshed Equally Safe strategy

DES Fund: Supporting survivors of violence and abuse

Almost 20,000 people given emotional and practical support

A new fund for those affected by violence against women and girls has supported nearly 20,000 survivors in its first six months.

The Delivering Equally Safe (DES) fund provided £9.5 million to 121 projects in its first six months. These projects give one-to-one emotional and practical support, as well as refuge, legal or financial advice and other services. Many of the organisations also run training and outreach programmes aiming to prevent violence against women and girls.

Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie visited the Saoirse project in Blantyre, run jointly by the charities WASLER and Liber8, to learn how it supports women in Lanarkshire who have been affected by both substance use and domestic abuse.

Ms McKelvie said: “The projects supported through our Delivering Equally Safe fund offer a lifeline to survivors of violence and abuse. Tackling violence against women and girls is a core priority for the Scottish Government, and this fund is a key element ensuring innovative projects can support survivors and tackle the root causes of violence and abuse.

“I have been moved and inspired by conversations with the women supported by Saoirse. By bringing together specialist services for both domestic abuse and substance use, Saoirse targets the multiple, complex issues that these women may be going through, helping them rebuild their lives.

“This is just one of 121 projects across Scotland that we are supporting through this fund. I am deeply grateful to all the organisations involved for the extraordinary work they do, and for supporting 20,000 survivors in just six months.”

Heather Russell, Chief Executive of WASLER (Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire), said: “The importance of funding and sustainable funding for our sector cannot be understated.

“Limits on service delivery and development of services to meet the true needs of women, children and young people we support is a daily grind. It makes the funding of our Saoirse service all the more essential.

“Delivering Equally Safe funding has allowed us to partner two distinct specialisms to develop a needs-led initiative. In bringing together specialist domestic abuse and substance use support services we are able to provide holistic support for women facing multiple and complex challenges.

“The very decision to fund this new partnership illustrates a strategic understanding of domestic abuse and its dynamics. Without DES funding we simply would be unable to deliver prescribed support to women who through no fault of their own need it. Gender-based violence is a threat to the lives of women and girls.

“Any funding for specialist organisations to support recovery and empowerment of those women is another life saved.”

Kaylie Allen, Director of Funds, Inspiring Scotland, said: “Organisations funded through Delivering Equally Safe deliver vital support for people experiencing gender-based violence alongside crucial education and prevention work.

“We are proud to work with this diverse group of organisations as Fund Managers for the Scottish Government, and are pleased the immense work of the funded groups can be acknowledged through this report. We want to thank funded groups for their hard work reporting on the impact of their activity.

“The learning gained from their reporting confirms not only the difference they are making to the lives of women and children across Scotland, but also the increasing demand for the services they offer.”

A report on the first six months of the Delivering Equally Safe Fund has been published by Inspiring Scotland.

Tackling violence against women and girls

£4.25m extra funding for frontline services

Women and children experiencing or at risk of violence and domestic abuse will have increased access to support, with £4.25 million of additional funding for charities and projects across Scotland.

The additional investment will help respond to an increase in demand from victims of abuse for support services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

More staff, increased hours for centres and helplines, improvements to IT and new digital resources and training will all allow services to be up-scaled so that more people can quickly and easily access help.

Updated guidance, developed in partnership with COSLA, is also already being used by local authorities to keep women and children safe.

Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said: “The greater risks to women and children of domestic abuse with referrals to frontline services increasing during the pandemic is a major concern. It is atrocious that this is the case but we are focused on ensuring that frontline services can meet the increased demand for support.

“This extra funding will help to ensure these vital services are still able to provide support to people across the country, and the scale and innovation of these projects will provide a lifeline to many women and families.

“Any kind of violence is unacceptable and the safety and wellbeing needs of women and children need to be protected – that is even more important during a pandemic. Police Scotland continue to prioritise domestic abuse cases so I would also encourage anyone suffering violence and domestic abuse not to hesitate to get the support they need.”

Dr Marsha Scott, Chief Executive of Scottish Women’s Aid, said: “Our local Women’s Aid groups have shown extraordinary resilience and creativity in rapidly redesigning their services to continue supporting those experiencing domestic abuse throughout the pandemic. The challenges they’ve faced have been huge as COVID-19 has given abusers more tools to control and harm women and children. 

“This injection of financial support will provide some much-needed stability for groups against a back drop of precarious, patchwork local funding. As lockdown and other measures ease, our local groups are anticipating even more demand for their specialist services as survivors begin to have more opportunities to seek support.

“Additionally, if faced with a second wave of the virus, this funding will strengthen the responses of groups and allow them to build on the progress they have made in delivering services remotely. This support from the Scottish Government will help local Women’s Aid services prepare to meet those needs and will mean that women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse can access the help and advice they want, when they want it.” 

Read the report Coronavirus (COVID-19): domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls during Phases 1, 2 and 3 of Scotland’s route map (22 May to 11 August 2020)

Read more on Equally Safe, the Scottish Government’s strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls.

Funding is confirmed to March 2021 and will be indicative to September 2021, subject to budgets for the 2021-22 financial year. 

A list of the funded projects is below:

Organisation/ProjectAmount 2020/21Indicative Amount 2021/22
Aberdeen Cyrenians£32,739£32,239
Action for Children Western Isles£720£0
Bridge funding for local CEDAR programmes£67,158£67,158
Children 1st – Scottish Borders£18,000£18,000
Committed to Ending Abuse£16,000£16,000
Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault West Lothian£30,000£30,000
Dumfries and Stewartry Women’s Aid£27,500£27,500
Equally Safe at School (Rape Crisis Scotland/Zero Tolerance)£11,684£11,684
Kingdom Abuse Survivors Project£16,500£16,500
Moray Rape Crisis Centre£5,842£5,842
Moray Women’s Aid£12,517£12,517
Rape Crisis Scotland – additional capacity for support£676,584£676,584
Rape Crisis Scotland – Helpline£31,712£31,712
Rape Crisis Scotland – National Advocacy Project£242,907£242,907
Rape Crisis Scotland – refresh funding services model£15,000£0
Red Cross – supporting vulnerable women£4,963£4,963
Respect Men’s Advice Line£14,357£14,357
Respekt (City of Edinburgh Council)£24,380£24,380
SACRO Another Way£20,000£20,000
Saheliya£38,097£38,097
SAY Women£23,308£21,692
Scottish Women’s Aid – enhanced support for women, children and young people through affiliated groups£637,500£672,219
Scottish Women’s Aid – improving digital infrastructure and communications for affiliated groups£68,000£68,000
Scottish Women’s Aid – affiliated groups staff health and wellbeing£53,000£53,000
TDAS Barnardos£25,000£25,000
West Dunbartonshire Council Support Service£24,966£24,966

Equally Safe: strategy to address violence against women expanded

A strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls is to be expanded and backed by more than £1 million of additional funding. The Equally Safe delivery plan includes measures to teach school children the importance of consent and healthy relationships and will see Rape Crisis Scotland’s sexual violence prevention programme rolled out across a further 11 local authorities.  Continue reading Equally Safe: strategy to address violence against women expanded