The mom of a scholar who took her personal life after being abused by her boyfriend has branded non-fatal strangulation because the “ultimate act of control” amid calls to make it a standalone offence.
Fiona Drouet’s daughter Emily was simply 18 years outdated when she took her personal life a number of days after being choked and slapped by Angus Milligan.
{The teenager} was finding out regulation on the College of Aberdeen when she died in 2016.
The next yr, Milligan obtained a Group Payback Order (CPO) with unpaid work and supervision after pleading responsible to assault and behaving in a threatening or abusive method.
NFS legal guidelines have already been launched in England, Wales, and Northern Eire.
Though it isn’t a standalone offence in Scotland, there is no such thing as a hole within the regulation and it’s prosecuted below a variety of offences.
Campaigners say that doesn’t go far sufficient and consider making it a standalone offence would act as a larger deterrent and result in extra correct knowledge on the variety of incidents reported.
Police Scotland and the Crown Workplace and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) agree that NFS is a “red flag” indicator for home murder, however are involved {that a} change may dilute present legal guidelines already in place.
In its 2025-26 Programme for Authorities, the Scottish authorities pledge to hold out a complete evaluation of the regulation in relation to NFS to find out if additional motion is required past the prevailing provisions.
Holyrood’s Felony Justice Committee took proof on NFS on Wednesday.
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Fiona Drouet. Pic: Scottish parliament TV
Ms Drouet informed the MSPs the harms of NFS are “significant” and will result in mind harm, organ failure, and doubtlessly loss of life.
Describing the psychological influence, she stated: “It’s like a near-death experience.
“And any individual, once they have the oxygen to their mind restricted, they’ll have an computerized response of combating – actually combating for his or her life.”
Ms Drouet described NFS as “hugely traumatic”.
She added: “It’s the ultimate act of control. And you know that whether you live or die is down to that perpetrator.”
Ms Drouet highlighted textual content messages despatched by Emily to her buddies, which stated she feared she was “going to die” when being strangled.
In one other message, {the teenager} wrote: “I am so scared that I think I want to die.”
Ms Drouet stated: “Members will know that my daughter is no longer with us after being subjected to horrendous abuse.
“And it impacts us all actually closely realizing that she was subjected to those harms and these fears.”
Ms Drouet believes NFS is an “exceptionally severe crime that deserves a regulation in itself”.
She added: “I am fearful that every other method minimises the severity and danger of the crime and would not give victims, survivors, the justice that they completely deserve.”
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‘His palms have been on my throat – he did not cease’
Police Scotland has raised issues that coping with NFS in isolation or presenting it to court docket as a single incident “could minimise opportunities” to construct a case below the Home Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.
The power has urged implementing a selected aggravating consider present offences.
Dr Emma Forbes, the nationwide lead for home abuse at COPFS, agreed NFS can result in “lethal consequences”.
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Dr Emma Forbes, the nationwide lead for home abuse at COPFS
In an earlier written submission, she famous: “Scots law currently criminalises non-fatal strangulation and there is not a gap in the law that was present in the other identified jurisdictions to necessitate a standalone offence of non-fatal strangulation.
“Scotland doesn’t want to duplicate different jurisdictions in making a standalone offence to ‘maintain tempo’; fairly, it ought to mirror the truth that different jurisdictions are catching up with the Scottish method.
“This is not a rationale to stand still and there remains significant work to ensure an effective and robust criminal justice response to non-fatal strangulation.”
Dr Forbes agreed that the normalisation of NFS – significantly inside sexual relationships – “needs to be addressed”.
She stated making a standalone offence would “send a strong message” and obtain larger public consciousness “swiftly and effectively”, however added: “However, at the same time, it risks a dilution of the currently robust law in Scotland and has the potential to lead to increased reporting but less convictions.”
Giving proof to the Holyrood committee, Dr Forbes stated extra may very well be carried out to boost consciousness of NFS and agreed there have been “compelling reasons” to create a standalone offence.
She added: “This is a public harm, but we have a very strong foundation in our law in Scotland and I would worry about the unintended consequences of a specific offence, not least because it would be more difficult evidentially to prove.”
