Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 25 November 2021
I ask members to think about three questions. Do you feel safe when you walk out of the Parliament building in the evening? Do you feel safe going out for a bite to eat on your own? Do you feel safe getting public transport home? For me, and I imagine most women in the Parliament, the answer to those questions is no.
A 2016 survey found that 35 per cent of women in Scotland do not feel safe walking in their own neighbourhood. Sadly, there is good reason for their fear. Women face threats every day that, thankfully, men seldom need to worry about. At home, at work and on a night out, the threat of sexual violence perpetrated by men is a clear and present danger.
As the cabinet secretary highlighted, it is horrific that one woman is murdered every three days in the UK. To put that figure in context, in one year in the UK, the same number of women will be killed as the total number of people murdered by terrorists in the UK this century. Compare the focus and funding that anti-terrorism receives—and rightly so—to the lack of emphasis on preventing violence against women.
One in three women in the UK experience some form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. I have no reason to believe that the situation in Scotland is much different. In my constituency, in the five years to 2019, the number of recorded sexual crimes has increased by 75 per cent to 258 incidents.
Recently, many constituents have contacted me with complaints about spiking. The initial police messaging was less than I had hoped for. I welcome the focus that Keith Brown, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, has put on the issue. He stated:
“We should be absolutely clear that women are not to blame. Any suggestion that women are in the wrong place at the wrong time, is utterly wrongheaded. The onus and responsibility should be put squarely at the feet of men, who must take responsibility for their behaviour.”—[Official Report, 28 October 2021; c 4.]
It has been good to hear men in this chamber talk about changing our culture. Jim Fairlie’s speech was excellent, as was Neil Gray’s. As others have touched on, despite recent advances, the attitudes of men must change. Misogyny is deep rooted.
The Scottish Government continues to support front-line services that aid survivors of violence and that focus on prevention. In the programme for government, the Scottish Government pledged to invest more than £100 million to support front-line services and focus on the prevention of violence against women and girls from school onwards over the next three years. The figure includes the enhanced delivering equally safe fund, which has been increased by £12 million to £38 million.
It must, however, be accepted that it will take many years to significantly change male attitudes. In the meantime, we need practical action. Engender has highlighted that women need
“to do ‘safety work’ when navigating public space”
and that
“Women change the way they use public space, including public transport and streets, to manage safety risks and avoid men’s violence.”
Violence and the threat of violence hold back economic growth in urban areas and limit women’s mobility and access to public space, education and economic, political and social opportunities, and their ability to move into higher-paid or more secure jobs. Open space and buildings are seldom, if ever, designed with the safety of women as an objective. National planning framework 4 is currently open to public consultation. We could really make a difference in that area. I would like a specific commitment to new design standards that are approached specifically from the point of view of preventing violence against women.
Women typically use public transport more than men do because of their lower socioeconomic status. Far more thought must be given to routes, staffing levels and improved connections to ensure that women are safe. Safe, inclusive and well-planned public spaces, infrastructure, urban surfaces and transport can reduce the violence and harassment that women and girls face and increase access to economic opportunities. Modern Scotland should demand nothing less.
“Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!”, which is this year’s UN theme for the 16 days of activism, emphasises the urgency of the need to eradicate men’s violence against women. We need to consider effective prevention and responses to tackling women’s inequality with men across all areas of life. Let us start making those changes now.
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