Hansard

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I am pleased that there is general support for the Government motion, as amended by my colleague Elaine Murray. Equally, I support the Government’s publication, in conjunction with COSLA, of “Equally Safe: Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls”. I am pleased that the thrust behind the strategy is reflected in that document.

There is much to reflect on with regard to the shifts that have occurred in our society over the past three decades. As members have mentioned, there have been incidents across that timeframe that lead one to be depressed. However, we need to face the facts if we are to move forward and see real change in how our society deals with girls and women. Domestic abuse is, above all, largely about the exercise of power and control by men in their relationships with women in our society. The upside is that at least today there is acknowledgement that domestic violence is wrong and that violence against women is a violation of human rights—I think that any right-minded person in our society reflects that view.

However, the statistics that the Government produces annually make for fairly devastating reading because the number of domestic abuse incidents reported in Scotland seems to climb year by year; in 2005-06, 45,300 incidents were reported and the current figure is just short of 60,000. It is often reflected that the rise in the number of reports is due to complainers having confidence and being willing to come forward, and we get some comfort from that view. However, the sheer size of the annual number of people who come forward to report is disheartening, and the experience of the victims who survive those assaults is debilitating in the extreme and lasts beyond the incident itself.

Earlier in the debate, there was mention of the impact of old firm games. At one time, we recognised that there was a rise in the number of reports of domestic abuse on the days of old firm games. However, the fact that the old firm no longer meets regularly seems not to have had an impact on the annual numbers reported.

Within those annual numbers, it is grave to reflect on the fact that for women in the age range 16 to 21 who suffer domestic abuse and violence the figure is already in the region of 2,000 at 16 and rises quickly to 4,000 a year and then to 6,000 a year at 21. For women between 22 and 35, 6,000, 7,000 and 8,000 women a year are recorded as being the victims of domestic abuse. Even in the age range 41 to 50, 6,000-plus women a year still report domestic abuse.

In any terms, those are terrible figures to reflect on. However, when one looks at the incidence of domestic abuse across a year, one can see, almost as if there is an annual target to be met, consistent figures of 8 and 9 per cent per month being reported to the police.

We should not shy away from this issue and I am pleased to see that there is no suggestion in any part of the chamber that we should do so. It is a serious issue that impacts on every family in this country in some form, within their own domestic arrangements or through their relatives or friends, and we need to continue to meet it head on.

There are a number of issues that are not within the control of this Parliament or the Government. The fashion industry has much to contribute to changing attitudes and cultures. As was mentioned earlier, the objectification of women as a commodity for sale is something that we need to address week by week and month by month. It is not old fashioned to speak up when we see women being treated as commodities and used as fashion horses. In the entertainment and music industry, too, women can be objectified to the extent that they have no real personality as an individual and as a person with rights. Lap dancing and the use of photographs in our newspapers, whether illicit or commercial, have an impact on young men’s attitudes to women.

I watched an episode of “The X Factor” only last week in which a man sang a pop record and, for some reason, behind him dancing on the stage were a host of women who had to be dressed in swimming costumes and high heels. The logic and culture of that passes me by. I will not go into the internet material that has already been mentioned, or revenge porn and sexting.

We need to ensure that there is respect for women within families. Girls’ access to physical education in schools—for the development of their minds as well as their bodies—and their opportunity to have their own space within the sports environment are limited. That needs to be addressed in order that they understand that they have their own presence and power within relationships.

I welcome the changes in the domestic abuse courts, but they need more resource and investment. The development of Rape Crisis, Women’s Aid and women’s refuges has been positive. The police have moved on light years in the past two decades in their attitude to domestic abuse through their task force and vulnerable persons database.

The Law Society of Scotland currently has a female president and its next president will also be female. I mention that because a huge percentage of women in the law profession are successful. Other professions should follow suit. I would like to see women comprising 50 per cent of all our professions within my lifetime, not in another millennium’s time.