That ends our coverage of the Scottish Parliament for Thursday 28 September 2017.

We'll be back next week.

Have a good weekend.

MSPs unanimously agree the general principles of the Domestic Abuse Bill, external.

Image source, Laura Dodsworth

Mr Matheson says the government will build in a publicity campaign to ensure greater awareness.

The justice secretary says Green MSP John Finnie was "on the money" about the police and he is confident that the police will see through the implementation of this legislation.

He says the reality is that domestic abuse is a product of social inequality and he believes this Bill will give support to the women that suffer this type of misery.

Image source, bbc

The minister says he can confirm at Stage 2 the government will extend provision of non-harassment orders to include children.

Mr Matheson says it should be the interests of the child that are paramount.

He says the government will look at a specific measure to tackle the impact of domestic abuse on children.

Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale welcomes the remarks and calls for resources to make this work for families.

Mr Matheson says he recognises the need for sufficient funding.

Mr Matheson says the government believes the term 'distress' is the appropriate level and it must be considered how the courts will measure that.

The justice secretary says the Oxford dictionary defines that as extreme anxiety and suffering and that is key.

"I believe this is the correct threshold for setting this at," he says.

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Justice Secretary Michael Matheson welcomes the cross party support for the Bill.

Mr Matheson says this is unique legislation as it seeks to criminalise a course of behaviour.

The minister says the accused must engage in a course of behaviour that is abusive to a partner or ex-partner.

He says the key is whether a reasonable person would consider if the course of behaviour would cause physical or psychological harm.

This consideration is over the course behaviour he stresses.

Image source, Laura Dodsworth

Ms Ballantyne says many have called for more protection for children in the Bill and she would support that.

The Tory MSP says she would support a publicity campaign for this Bill.

She says early intervention and prevention services can be looked at.

Ms Ballantyne says it is important to proceed with caution and trial the one family, one judge approach.

She says currently only 6% of convicted cases include a non harassment order and she was struck by the fact that an abuser can leave court and go straight back to the home to where the abuse took place.

Ms Ballantyne says "we are working to eradicate the scourge of domestic abuse" and "this Bill is another step forward.

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Tory MSP Michelle Ballantyne says: "What we enshrine in law must protect the very victims we seek to protect."

Ms Ballantyne says coercive behaviour is an evil and systematic poisoning of the soul.

She says this Bill bridges a gap in the law.

The Conservative MSP says it allows effective policing of those who coerce victims.

Image source, Laura Dodsworth

Ms Grant says there is more that can be done with this Bill to stop many children being harmed in the interim period while the children act is being reviewed.

The Labour MSP says an abusive parent should have no access to a child until they can prove they have changed.

She says domestic abuse courts recognise what a civil court may not and she would urge the justice secretary to review this.

Ms Grant says some were concerned by the language of the Bill and going back to the days when these incidents were referred to as "a domestic".

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Labour MSP Rhoda Grant says: "Our vision must be creating a country where we have true equality and an end to violence against women."

Ms Grant pays warm tribute to Scottish Women's Aid and calls for support to be given to them.

She says the Bill deals with situations where a child is used as an aggravator in domestic abuse, but not the impact of domestic abuse on the child.

Ms Grant praise the efforts of Children 1st , externalon this issue.

SNP MSP Christina McKelvie says around one in three women have become victims of domestic abuse.

Ms McKelvie says some brush it under the carpet and asks if enough is being done.

The SNP MSP says grassroots community work is important and has brought about some improvement.

She says this Bill tackles one of her biggest concerns which is coercive control and this needs to be criminalised.

Ms McKelvie says men also suffer coercive and psychological abuse at the hands of their partners.

She asks the government to strengthen the Bill when children are involved.

Image source, bbc

Tory MSP Gordon Lindhurst says there were concerns about a low threshold for coercive control.

The Tory MSP asks if the bar is being set to low.

Green MSP John Finnie says it is the judgement of the individual who calls the police as to whether they should.

Mr Lindhurst agrees with that.

He says law should be clear and these concerns must be addressed sensitively.

The Tory MSP says he is not entirely convinced all the concerns have been addressed.

SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor says he is proud that the Justice Committee has agreed unanimously with the Bill.

Mr MacGregor says the police and social services have often had nowhere else to go in stopping this and that this law will be welcomed.

The SNP MSP says the justice secretary will be able to look back proudly on this Bill as it being a major moment.

He believes the introduction of this offence and publicity will lead to more convictions.

Mr MacGregor encourages local authorities to recruit people to work in this area.

Image source, bbc

Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur begins by expressing his party's unequivocal support for the general principles of the Domestic Abuse Bill.

Mr McArthur pays warm tribute to the survivors who shared their harrowing stories with the Justice Committee.

He says Scottish Women's Aid and others are right that the affect of domestic abuse on children is not just when they have seen abuse and he says this needs to be reflected in the Bill.

Mr McArthur says over the course of the evidence he heard he became satisfied the tests in the legislation were suitably robust.

SNP MSP Ben Macpherson says he strongly supports the principles of the Bill.

Mr Macpherson says the Bill takes account of the context of domestic abuse.

The SNP MSP says this abuse can damage a persons character and that this Bill helps to clarify that coercive behaviour is unacceptable.

He says it is important that there is a publicity campaign to raise awareness of the Bill's attention but that has already started by bringing this Bill to parliament.

Mr Macpherson highlights the 15 photos introduced by Scottish Women's Aid and Zero Tolerance to show the reality of domestic abuse.

Find more information on this project by scrolling down.

Green MSP John Finnie says the justice secretary used the phrase "the next important steps" and he thinks this is one of them.

Mr Finnie says domestic abuse courts can play and important role and he has long been an advocate of rolling that out.

The Green MSP says testimony was heard during the evidence of this Bill and he pays tribute to those women who gave evidence.

He says these women can do more than any politician when it comes to making people understand the extent of the damage caused by this abuse.

"I have every confidence that the police, working with the justice system can properly address this," he says.