Perthshire domestic abuse survivor’s new law to protect women moves one step closer to reality

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Perthshire domestic abuse survivor’s mission to introduce stronger laws to protect women who suffer miscarriages as a result of violence has moved one step closer to reality.

The brainchild of Nicola Murray, Brodie’s Law is now being considered by a government committee to be ratified as an official legal act.Over the past couple of years Nicola, from Stanley, has said courts should take into greater account the loss of a baby when sentencing those who abuse their partner.

In the summer of 2021 Nicola sat down with the PA, describing the abuse she herself has suffered which had led to three tragic miscarriages.

Nicola contacted Perthshire Women’s Aid (PWA) in 2018 who deemed her and her family at risk of “current or future harm”. The group found her to be “an absolute shell” when she arrived and said they believed she was suffering from PTSD.After losing son Brodie, she decided to set up Brodie’s Trust that same year to support women who have suffered through similar experiences.And in a further mission, Nicola set up a petition last year to introduce an Unborn Victims of Violence Act – or ‘Brodie’s Law’ – to create a specific offence to “enable the judiciary to adequately prosecute perpetrators”.And now after filing a petition to make the law a reality the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee has taken it into serious consideration.The petition was reviewed by Bill Kidd MSP in November, making recommendations that the committee write to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Law Society of Scotland, the Scottish Law Commission, the Scottish Sentencing Council, Scottish Women’s Aid and Victim Support Scotland for their input into the wording and their views.A timeline on when the committee