Meeting of the Parliament 05 December 2024
Not so long ago, in this chamber, we reflected on the situation in Afghanistan and the terrible and horrific circumstances for women and girls in that country. They are denied access to healthcare and education, they are repressed and they are denied their human rights. Afghanistan is a very different place to Scotland, but it serves as a warning from history—and the present—that things can regress. These 16 days, here in Scotland and internationally, are a chance for us to remember those who have suffered from violence against women and girls, to reflect on the situation that we are in and—for those of us who are men—to refocus on what more we can and should do.
In Scotland, we have made significant advancements with legislation, although I appreciate that there are calls for more to be done. There is also the Government’s commitment to introducing a law on misogyny, and there is collaboration across the UK to take more action on the difficulties in social media with regard to what it is doing in certain worrying instances to, as has been referenced, almost encourage toxic masculinity.
Further, there is the important work that is done in Scotland by our many stakeholders, through funding from the Government and the equally safe strategy. There are many projects and organisations that make a difference across the country and in our communities. In Edinburgh Northern and Leith, we have specific focused organisations such as Sikh Sanjog, Shakti Women’s Aid and Saheliya, and there are national bodies and initiatives such as Women’s Aid, which is with us this week in the garden lobby, as well as Aberlour Children’s Charity and the financially included project, which have been doing work in Parliament today—I was glad to meet them earlier to talk about the important work that they do around reducing coercive control and coerced debt.
There is also White Ribbon Scotland, which has engaged with many of us in Parliament in recent years. Next week in Parliament, I will host an event with it on persuading men and boys to take action on men’s violence against women and girls. I also mention Zero Tolerance, which has provided important information for us today and is doing great work, as others have said.
There is much to do. Many of the statistics have already been stated but, according to Zero Tolerance, only 19 per cent of girls and women feel completely safe in educational settings. In relation to misogyny and gendered attitudes in schools, it has found through its research that 83 per cent of schoolteachers are worried about the influence of online personalities and the negative effect that they are having on young boys and their behaviour.
We can look back to research even from 10 years ago about young people’s attitudes to violence against women and girls. The report that was produced in 2016, “Young People’s Attitudes to Violence Against Women: Report on Findings from the Young People in Scotland Survey 2014”, showed worrying trends even back then. We must get ahead of the prevention work and invest in prevention. That is what all the various organisations are asking us to do. That means taking initiative, and it means hard cash for the third sector organisations that make such a difference—sometimes an intangible difference. It also means leadership from all of us, as role models, parliamentarians and community leaders.
Last year, I put forward 16 actions that members of the Scottish Parliament could take over the course of the year between each of the 16 days of activism. I would encourage colleagues, particularly male colleagues, to take those 16 actions. One of the key ways in which we can make a difference is by being proactive in our communities. Rather than just engaging in campaigns such as “Don’t be that guy,” as great a campaign as it is, we should say, “Here’s how you can be a good guy,” or “Here’s how you can be a better guy.” We are not all perfect, but all young people and all individuals can make a difference.
Here and more widely, we are in a struggle to influence young men’s views and behaviour, and how they are formed and shaped. The more that men can do to encourage healthy masculinity and to be active in our communities and online, the bigger difference we can make in trying to improve the situation before the next 16 days of activism.
16:37