Strengthening MARAC for a Safer Future

5 March 2026.

In-person conference (Edinburgh).

Free. Invite-only.

Registration has now closed

You asked for us to bring together MARAC professionals, partners, and policy makers 
from across Scotland. We’re delivering. 

  • Celebrating progress

  • Data and innovation

  • Collaboration

  • A ‘whole picture’ approach

  • Authentic Voice

How do we strengthen Scotland's response to domestic abuse?

By coming together.

MARAC is one part of a wider response system.

So, we must ensure that each and every part of the system works effectively. And that all parts work with each other.

An effective multi-agency system requires us to join the dots.

Join us to connect, reflect and think about ways to improve multi-agency capability, consistency, and capacity across Scotland, making it everyone’s business to keep women and children safer, sooner.

We're in it together to end domestic abuse.

Registration is now closed

All attendance requests are being reviewed, and spaces will be confirmed shortly via a follow-up email.

Whether you think you know all there is to know about MARACs, or are new to the process, you’ll leave this conference with deeper insights and fresh ideas.  

Just some of the topics we’ll be exploring include:

  • How to save time and resources.

  • How data can transform your MARAC response.

  • How to build a ‘whole picture’ of risk through better sharing of insights.

  • Why embedding the voice of survivors (‘Authentic Voice’) isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a must.

  • How to share information, the robust way.

  • How to integrate case-mapping and troubleshooting frameworks into the MARAC process – the MARAC and Safe & Together pilot scheme (M-STIP).

Sharing experiences, expertise and perspectives

We’re bringing together Scotland's MARAC community to deepen our collective understanding of what's working well and where practice is evolving.

The details

  • The venue is situated in the heart of the capital, near Haymarket railway station. Venue details and directions will be sent to confirmed attendees.

  • Thursday 5 March 2026.

    Doors open at 9, and the conference begins at 9.30.

    The conference will finish at around 4pm.

  • This conference is brought to you by the SafeLives Safer Sooner Project, thanks to funding from the Scottish Government’s Delivering Equally Safe Fund, so tickets are free for all attendees.

  • MARAC professionals, partners, and policymakers working in Scotland.

  • Simply fill in our ‘Register Interest’ form to let us know you'd like to attend.

    It’s worth noting, as an in-person conference, spaces are limited.

    All attendance requests will be reviewed, and spaces will be confirmed separately in a follow-up email.

  • To ensure a safe space for all delegates, we will not be recording the conference.

    We will however, provide a written reference/summary post event.

Aims of the conference

To increase understanding of the vital role MARAC plays - at both local and national level - in the response to domestic abuse.

  • To explore how Marac continues to evolve — responding to data, policy, and lived experience to strengthen outcomes for victims, survivors, and families. 

  • To recognise that no single agency can see the whole picture. By bringing these insights together we can better understand risk, and develop stronger joined-up action plans for better outcomes for women and children.

  • To explore how Authentic Voice principles can shape MARAC practice and ensure lived experience informs improvement across Scotland. 

  • To understand the development of MARAC data over time and explore current MARAC data to increase knowledge of its importance, role, and impact in addressing domestic abuse in Scotland. 

Speakers and sessions

  • Nel Whiting

    VAWG Team Leader, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee  

    (Scottish Government)

    The Government and VAWG

  • SafeLives Authentic Voice Panel Member

    SafeLives Authentic Voice Panel, a group of women with lived experience of domestic abuse, dedicated to ensuring that survivor voice is at the heart and start of services, policy, and strategy.

    Authentic Voice website

  • M-STIP update

    Exploring learnings and possible future integrations of the MARAC Safe & Together Integration Pilot (M-STIP).

    A partnership between SafeLives, Safe & Together (S&T) and the Improvement Service, M-STIP aims to integrate S&T models and frameworks into the MARAC process.

    The Safe & Together Model™ is an international, perpetrator pattern–based framework for transforming how systems and practitioners respond to domestic abuse and child maltreatment. It applies a child-centered, strengths-based, and systems-informed approach that shifts the focus from blaming protective caregivers to holding perpetrators accountable as parents.

    Currently being piloted in two selected Scottish MARACs, we’ll be exploring learnings from the scheme at the conference

    Learn more about Safe & Together

  • More expert speakers and sessions to be confirmed

    Check back soon…

The Future of MARAC in Scotland Conference is brought to you by the SafeLives Safer Sooner Project, thanks to funding from the Scottish Government’s Delivering Equally Safe Fund.

Let’s end domestic abuse for everyone. For good.

Safer, Sooner