Scottish Women’s Rights Centre

The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) works with self-identifying women who have been affected by abuse and violence in Scotland with the aim of improving their access to justice and experience of the justice system.

Scottish Women's Rights Centre Logo

The SWRC is an innovative collaborative project which brings together the expertise of JustRight Scotland with Rape Crisis Scotland and the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic.
Our Centre strives to fill the gaps that exist between women’s experiences of gender-based violence and their ability to access justice by working with specialist solicitors and experienced advocacy workers. Our services include helplines, legal advice surgeries, advocacy support and legal representation.

You can find a list of our services here.
We are informed by our direct work with victims/survivors of violence and abuse, we seek to influence national policy, research and training to improve processes and systems, and ultimately to improve justice outcomes for women who have experienced gender-based violence.

See our Inclusion Statement here.

Go to Scottish Women’s Rights Centre website

What we do

We provide:

  • Free and confidential legal and advocacy helplines
  • Remote legal advice surgeries
  • Specialist legal representation and advocacy support
  • Policy work and research on a local, national and international level directly informed by the experiences of women contacting the SWRC
  • Legal guides and other information resources about women’s rights published online
  • Professional training for solicitors and support organisations working with victims/survivors of abuse
  • Inclusion and accessibility: we can make adjustments or additional arrangements (such as booking an interpreter) to allow service users to access our services. For more information about our LGBT resources, please see here.

To find out more about our services, watch our video. A simple and safe way to record incidents of stalking can be access via FollowIt App.
Need more support? Find a solicitor using this simple online tool.

 

 

We are funded by:

Scottish Government logoScottish Legal Aid Boardlegal education foundation logo


Resources

‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ and migrant women living with abuse

By Hanan El-Atrash In the UK, some migrants are subject to a condition called No Recourse to Public Funds or NRPF, which can have far reaching consequences for migrant women, particularly those living...

A joint statement on the Borders Bill “Not in our name”

In Scotland we have a proud history of protest, of raising our voices against the injustices that blight our society and speaking truth to power. We – the undersigned – are proud to work in a country ...

Civil Cases for Rape are Access to Justice

Civil Cases for Rape are Access to Justice, Not "Destruction of Justice" The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) and JustRight Scotland (JRS) are deeply concerned by the publication of the article in...

Empowering Women in Law: Insights from our InvestHER Event

Yesterday we commemorated International Women's Day 2024 by hosting our #InvestHER event in partnership with the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) and the Strathclyde Law Clinic for the students at...

FGM: Breaking Down Barriers

Here are some things about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) many people do not know: Women and girls in Scotland are at risk of FGM; This is not something that is based in any religion; and It is a...

Human Rights Act reform: we reject the UK Government proposals

  JustRight Scotland has rejected the UK Government plans to replace the Human Rights Act (HRA) as announced last December.  We have been working – together with other Scottish civil society and ...

Insight series – Part 4: a JustRight Intern

  Maya’s role within our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC)  Every year the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) welcomes students from the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic as interns.  All...

Introducing our new social enterprise: JRS Knowhow 

We are proud to announce the launch of our brand new social enterprise JRS Knowhow. The start-up social enterprise was created in April 2021, marking almost exactly four years since JustRight Scotland was set...

JRS is taking part in #16Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence

The 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence is an international campaign that runs from today to the 10th of December, Human Rights Day. Originally created by activists, it continues to be...

Legal Opinion: What does the Nationality and Borders Bill mean for devolution in Scotland?

Sabrina Galella, Policy & Public Affairs Officer at JustRight Scotland.   JustRight Scotland and Scottish Refugee Council jointly commissioned a legal opinion from Christine O’Neill QC and her...

Making Human Rights Justice a Reality Report shines a light on systemic barriers to justice and how to break them

  by Maisie Wilson   Over the past few months, we have been working with the Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS) on their latest report Make Human Rights Justice a Reality, along with Clan...

New Plan for Immigration Consultation: A Briefing for Scottish Civil Society Organisations

On 24 March 2021, the UK Government published its New Plan for Immigration, which sets out various proposals for changes to nationality, immigration and asylum law.  The consultation invites members of...

New Plan for Immigration Consultation: Our Response

On 24 March 2021, the UK Government published its New Plan for Immigration, which sets out various proposals for changes to nationality, immigration and asylum law. JustRight Scotland and our JustCitizens...

New report, to be launched in Scotland, sheds light upon forced migrants’ experiences of sexual and gender-based violence

  On the 7th December, SEREDA Scotland will launch its findings into the experiences of forced migrant survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and the services they rely on. Led by the...

Press Release: AR v Stephen Daniel Coxen

Successful Civil Damages Action for Rape: AR v Stephen Daniel Coxen Friday, 5 October 2018 The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) and JustRight Scotland (JRS) welcome today’s judgment of Sheriff Weir...

Response to Independent Review on the Human Rights Act

We have submitted a response to the Independent Review of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), in response to its call for evidence which closed on 3 March 2021. Our submission makes it clear that we see ...

Rising Together: Celebrating Resilience & Community in Scotland’s Migration Sector at our Roots of Refuge

  By Annamaria De Felice  As we continue to engage with Fair Begins Here, a national campaign led by Together with Refugees, we are also working with community groups and other organisations across...

Scotland’s Adherence to the Council of Europe Convention: Addressing and Preventing Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

  by Sabrina Galella  Over the past few months, we have been working with the Scottish Human Rights Commission as part of their Istanbul Reference Group to contribute to the Commission’s report to...

Scottish human rights organisations unite to reject “unnecessary, regressive and divisive” plans to replace Human Rights Act

Responding to the UK Government’s announcement today that it plans to replace the Human Rights Act, five leading Scottish human rights organisations have released a joint statement calling the proposals...

Scottish Women’s Rights Centre

We are delighted to announce that as of 1 October 2017, JustRight Scotland is the specialist legal provider for the Scottish Women's Rights Centre (SWRC). The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) is ...

Stamping Out NRPF in Scotland

By Talat Yaqoob The news stories of the increasingly dangerous and dehumanising policies being considered by the Home Office have continued to dominate another week in the press. We know that these...

SWRC Inform: Contact and Residence Orders

Welcome to our final post in the series on Domestic Abuse and Scots Law – Training for Solicitors following our recent seminar by Helen Hughes. See our first two blog posts here and here. This blog...

SWRC Inform: Protective Orders

Welcome back to our series of blog posts on Domestic Abuse and Scots Law – Training for Solicitors following our first SWRC Inform seminar by Helen Hughes. In our last post, we looked at ‘What Solicitors...

SWRC Inform: Training for Solicitors

Last week we were delighted to host our first SWRC Inform seminar on Domestic Abuse and Scots Law – Training for Solicitors. The seminar provided delegates with the knowledge and practical tools –...

Understanding SLAPPs in Scotland

  By Annamaria De Felice What Are SLAPPs? Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are legal actions used to silence people. These lawsuits are often without merit and aim to...

What Solicitors need to know about Domestic Abuse

Welcome to the first in our series of blog posts on our first SWRC Inform seminar Domestic Abuse and Scots Law – Training for Solicitors, delivered by Helen Hughes last week. Today we’re going to be...

Working as Legal Caseworker at the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre

  by Constance Trepanier  After I moved back to Scotland in January last year (2022), and in the midst of finding flats and settling in, I embarked on a new and quite exciting adventure as a new ...