Louise has worked for Scottish Women’s Aid since 2001. Her remit as National Legal Issues Worker is to improve access to justice for, and promote the legal rights of, women, children and young people with experience of domestic abuse, in relation to the development and implementation of justice policy and legislation.

She has been a member of a number of high-level policy groups including Lord Coulsfield’s Reference Group reviewing Crown disclosure of evidence in criminal cases, both the Scottish Law Commission and Crown Office Advisory Groups reviewing the law and prosecution of rape and sexual assault and, most recently, as a member of Lord Bonomy’s Post-corroboration Safeguards Review Reference Group.

In addition, she has been involved in the development and passing of several significant pieces of legislation, including the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2011 and the Forced Marriage (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2011 and has contributed to the development of a number of publications on law and practice.

Nel is a Learning and Development Coordinator with Scottish Women’s Aid, where she has worked since September 2003. Her role takes her throughout Scotland providing learning opportunities which explore the dynamics of domestic abuse to a range of professionals in the voluntary and statutory sector. Nel is a regular lecturer at the Scottish Police College, the Scottish Probation College and Stirling University. She also teaches on the Queen Margaret University ‘Gender Justice’ module. She is author of “What Can Contemporary Gender Theory Contribute to An Understanding of Abuse in Same Sex Relationships?” which was published in the Scottish Journal of Criminal Justice Studies 2008, Asking About Abuse: Routine Enquiry of Domestic Abuse and Childhood Sexual Abuse Training Pack (with Cosgrove & Beavon) which was published by the Scottish Government Health Directorate in 2011, and “Effecting Operational Change Through Training: Challenges and Approaches” in N.Lombard and L. McMillan (eds.) (forthcoming, 2012) Research Highlights in Social Work: Violence Against Women, Jessica Kingsley Publications.