Meeting of the Parliament 22 March 2016
I support the amendments in the name of my colleague Margaret McDougall. There is a gap in the bill that needs to be plugged.
Margaret McDougall narrated the position of Scottish Women’s Aid and the importance of what has been excluded, namely letters, text messages, emails and voice recordings. I agree with Scottish Women’s Aid, and I do not accept the position that is laid out in the policy memorandum that it would be difficult to define and interpret the
“definition of an intimate written or recorded communication”
and, bizarrely, that there would be a risk of
“unintended consequences in terms of interference with freedom of speech”.
At stage 2, Margaret McDougall’s opponents made many references to the Communications Act 2003; my colleague Roderick Campbell highlighted that the 2003 act provides a punishment, so he did not accept the amendments. Similarly, the cabinet secretary has made much reference to that legislation, but offences under it are tried under the summary procedure rather than the solemn procedure, so there are limits on the disposals. There is also a specific time limit for bringing a prosecution under section 127 of the 2003 act, which would not apply if Margaret McDougall’s amendments were to be agreed to.
It is important to note who supports the amendments—Scottish Women’s Aid, Victim Support Scotland and Police Scotland. We will have to return to the issue at a future date. I do not believe that the legislation is future proof. The activities that the amendments would address are about humiliation and control, and I urge members to support them.