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 will make a final decision has not been set.
Nicola, who previously studied law, worked as a legal secretary and qualified as a domestic abuse councillor in 2020, also conducted an extensive study in 2018 to support her cause.
The study included 40 female domestic abuse survivors, none of which were Brodie’s Trust service users.
The submission found that 95 per cent of respondents had been coerced into having a termination of pregnancy and 90 per cent had experienced a pregnancy loss or a still birth caused by domestic violence.
With strides being made that could introduce her act, Nicola said: “It is quite emotional, especially after everything that has happened to me.
“It is empowering as well and hopefully it can make a real difference.
“I am waiting to hear back from them.
“They are waiting on agencies to give their input and give evidence towards it.
“I think it already should be law and they will decide whether to take it forward.
“When women are abused they will be better protected and the person who abused them will be dealt with in law.”
Nicola is also currently studying forensic psychology at the Open University to give herself the best chance possible to make Brodie’s Law a reality.
“The next step will be me giving evidence to the committee in support of the law,” she added.
“I have already given them a study and I will be conducting others this year. I am optimistic about it going forward that it will go through the process and become law at some point.”
Brodie’s Trust can be found at: www.facebook.com/brodiestrust
To contact Perthshire Women’s Aid got to www.perthwomensaid.org.uk/ or call 01738 635404.
