In light of the Scottish Sentencing Council paper, Public Perceptions of Sentencing: 2025 Survey Report, published in February 2026, which …

The maximum penalty for the offence of 'abuse of a partner or ex-partner' at section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 is 14 years imprisonment, where the offender is convicted on indictment and sentenced in the High Court. Other offences used to prosecute acts of domestic abuse include assault and sexual assault, which carry maximum penalties of up to life imprisonment.Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary, within the overall legal framework, taking account of all the relevant facts and circumstances of each individual case, and of any relevant sentencing guidelines produced by the Scottish Sentencing Council. This preserves the operational independence of the criminal justice system and keeps it free from the risk of political interference. In any given case involving domestic abuse, the independent judiciary has extensive powers to impose an appropriate sentence on domestic abusers.The Scottish Sentencing Council paper, Public Perceptions of Sentencing: 2025 Survey Report which can be found at Public perceptions of sentencing, found that 60% of respondents to a poll commissioned by the Council thought that sentencing is either 'much too lenient' or 'a little too lenient'. These findings related to sentencing generally and was not directly related to sentencing for domestic abuse crimes.The survey asked respondents for their views on sentencing of people convicted of domestic abuse offences. It found that a majority of participants thought a community or other non-custodial sentence was the most appropriate sentence for offences involving either a violent assault or a pattern of coercive control. In line with this, most people were supportive of requiring people convicted of these offences to attend courses aimed at addressing their offending behaviour as an alternative to prison.The Scottish Sentencing Council, which is independent from the Scottish Government, has the statutory functions ofpromoting consistency in sentencing practice;assisting the development of policy in relation to sentencing; andpromoting greater awareness and understanding of sentencing policy and practice.One of the main ways it does this is via the production of sentencing guidelines for the Scottish courts. Sentencing guidelines help to ensure sentences are consistent, fair and proportionate. The Council recently consulted on a draft guideline on sentencing for domestic abuse offences. More information about this work can be found on their website at: Domestic abuse | Scottish Sentencing Council.