Thirteen people have been convicted under new legislation which outlaws coercive control and psychological abuse, the First Minister has revealed.
The Domestic Abuse Act came into force in April, making emotional and psychological abuse an offence for the first time.
The legislation, brought in by the Scottish Government , targeted abusers who control their victims by isolating them from their friends and family, or restrict their finances.
As well as the 13 convictions under the new legislation, Nicola Sturgeon said there are several other cases being prosecuted.
She told Holyrood's committee conveners that while it is still "early days in the operation of the Act", there have "already" been 13 convictions under the new law and a "number proceeding through the courts at the moment".
She said while the Act is important to address a "clear deficiency in the law", there is a "deeper and more fundamental job" to be done in raising awareness of emotional and psychological abuse.
Sturgeon said: "We still have the situation where the kinds of behaviour that are now rightly criminalised by this new Act are not always recognised by the victims, perhaps even the perpetrators - though I am less worried about that - and certainly by the courts and the system as the criminal offences that they are."
An awareness raising campaign accompanied the introduction of the new legislation, but Sturgeon said there is "a lot of work still there to do".
