SNP MSP for the Highlands and Islands Emma Roddick has said the Scottish Government must continue to work with its justice partners to make reporting sexual crimes easier on survivors. The question, asked in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday [26th June], comes as the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, is seeking to overturn an 87-year-old rule [...]

Emma has welcomed the Scottish Government’s pilot scheme to improve access to justice, which will see victims of rape and serious sexual assault able to access transcripts from their court cases for free. From the 1st of March 2024 to the 1st of March 2025, £100,000 of funding will enable complainers who have had their [...]

Emma visited the Inverness Justice Centre last week [Thursday 15th] to hear about the introduction of virtual courts. The Inverness Justice Centre, opened in March 2020, has facilities in place that allow for witnesses to give evidence in court virtually. Not only does this help to preserve the quality of evidence, but it also allows [...]

Emma met with the Highland Violence Against Women Partnership (VAWP) on Tuesday [13th of February] to learn about the work they are doing to prevent gender-based violence. Emma met with Myra Ross, Training Officer at Highland VAWP, to discuss new materials that are being created to illustrate to the public what it is like for [...]

On Friday [8th of December], Emma met with RASASH (Rape & Sexual Abuse Service Highland) to speak about the work they do to campaign against sexual violence.    RASASH is an independent charity in the Highlands that provides support to victims of sexual violence. They also have an educational focus, delivering workshops and guidance to schools [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has welcomed the Scottish Government’s official apology to those affected by historic forced adoption practices, in one of Nicola Sturgeon’s final acts as First Minister.  The SNP MSP, along with Monica Lennon, Miles Briggs, Maggie Chapman, and Alex Cole-Hamilton, was a signatory of a 2022 cross-party letter to the [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick used an opportunity to question the Scottish Government this week on what support it offers victims of violent crimes in the pre-trial period. In her question, Ms Roddick raised the situation of the accused of a violent crime being released on bail despite living in the same building as [...]

Highlands & Islands MSP Emma Roddick has been out and about in Uist speaking to several local organisations, parents, and employers with colleagues from the Scottish Parliament’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee as part of its Poverty and Parental Employment Inquiry. Ms Roddick, Deputy Convenor of the Committee, delivered an introduction on the first [...]

Emma speaking in Parliament in the Programme for Government 2022-23 debate Highlands & Islands MSP Emma Roddick has spoken out in support of the Scottish Government’s announcement that it will bring forward a Criminal Justice Reform Bill which will propose the end of the ‘Not Proven’ verdict in Scots Law and include a range of [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has welcomed the news that anyone in Scotland who requires the surgical removal of mesh implants is to be offered surgery in the US as a potential treatment course. This option is in addition to the treatment options currently being offered with Spire Healthcare in Bristol and the Complex [...]