The 25th November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the beginning of a 16 day campaign to raise awareness and further efforts to end violence towards women and girls all over the world. The day is not intended to give the impression that women do not use violence or that men are never victims, it merely recognises the hard truth that statistically men are the perpetrators and women and children, their victims. The term ‘violence’ is used broadly in this context, the range of behaviours used to control, degrade, humiliate and abuse women and children is not only physical, but also psychological and emotional. It is also unacceptable.

This week marks Scotland’s annual Road Safety Week 2015, organised by Brake, the road safety charity. The event gets local communities involves thousands of schools, emergency services and community groups in road safety themed activities. Furthermore, Brake have produced a media campaign to raise awareness about road safety and safer road use. This years campaign focusses on using your car less with the ultimate aim of decreasing the risk of road traffic accidents.

Started working for Mr Scrooge? Does your pay packet look like a partridge without a pear tree? Today at Unlock the Law we begin our ‘Employment Law Advent’ by outlining when you should be paid minimum wage and what you can do if your employer falls short. On the first day of Christmas Unlock the Law gave to me….some great legal guidance for free.

It's the fourth annual Family Dispute Resolution this week, organised by Resolution to raise awareness of putting the needs of children first during separation and divorce. Resolution is an organisation with 6500 members, mainly lawyers and industry professionals, who believe that divorce and separation can be dealt with through mediation and co-operation, as opposed to confrontation. To find out more about family law generally, have a look at our free comprehensive legal guides here. 

Most people living in communal buildings find the easiest way to deal with maintenance and repair work is to hire a property factor. However, often property factors fall short of what is expected of them leaving property owners unhappy. This post looks at the obligations of factors in Scotland and what you can do if your factor fails to meet these standards, or acts dishonestly in carrying out their role.