Hansard

I welcome the motion in Michael Matheson’s name and I am encouraged that the Scottish Government is committed to tackling domestic abuse as part of a wider strategy to prevent violence against women and girls. I hope that the Government will consider supporting Claire Baker’s amendment, which refers to extending the provision of domestic abuse courts to ensure that cases are dealt with as a priority and that survivors receive the support that they need through the justice system.

Creating a specific criminal offence of domestic abuse is a bold move, but it is much needed. A widespread consensus exists on the need to create a specific domestic abuse offence. Too often, the behaviours that constitute abuse cannot be effectively pursued by the justice system under our existing laws.

A narrow definition of domestic abuse that accounts only for physical harm or threats fails to capture the sad and disturbing reality that abusers use a wide spectrum of controlling behaviours that have a devastating impact on the lives of women and their children. Coercive and psychological abuse might not always leave bruises or other physical marks, but that does not make it any less damaging.

It is therefore appropriate that the justice system should gain the powers that it needs to tackle such harmful behaviours, in the same way as it is able to prosecute those who commit physical assaults. That has long been recognised by support services such as Scottish Women’s Aid, which plays an integral role in supporting survivors of domestic abuse.

The creation of a new specific offence is welcome, but eradicating domestic abuse requires an approach that reaches beyond the legal system to encompass and recognise the role that support agencies play. Through my work as a local councillor in Hamilton, I learned of the vital but stretched services that are provided to survivors of domestic abuse. Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire provides immeasurable support to survivors—from the refuge service to the children experiencing domestic abuse recovery, or CEDAR, project, which provides longer-term support to children and families who are affected by domestic abuse.

I organised a small fundraiser for the organisation last year when I hosted a screening of the film “Suffragette” at Hamilton cinema. I was pleased to help in a small way, but front-line staff consistently raise as a major priority the need for the continuation of sustainable funding to enable them to deliver the level of service that is required. It is therefore concerning that cuts to local authority budgets are negatively impacting on the organisation’s ability to identify and deliver support to women and children who are at risk of abuse. I hope that the Government will note that as it develops the legislation.

Nevertheless, the creation of a specific offence of domestic abuse is an important step in the right direction, especially because of how it will change the way in which society views domestic abuse. The 2014 Scottish social attitudes survey conducted a study of public attitudes towards violence against women. On the issue of coercive control, only half of respondents thought that it was “very seriously wrong” for a man to try to stop his wife or partner from going out with friends; only 39 per cent thought that it was “very seriously wrong” for a man to get his wife to change her clothes before going on a night out; and only 27 per cent thought that such actions would cause a “great deal of harm” to the woman. Those figures are worrying, and they show that there is a long way to go before there is broader understanding about the harmful impact that coercive control can have on the lives of domestic abuse survivors.

To live in a truly equal society in which women and girls can live free from gender-based violence, we must go much further than giving the justice system the levers that it requires to go after abusers; we must also work at every level of society to dispel harmful gender stereotypes in order to prevent violence from ever occurring in the first instance. Violence against women, and specifically domestic abuse, does not occur in a vacuum; it is the disturbing and most extreme end result of misogynistic behaviour and attitudes.

The recent report that was published by the Educational Institute of Scotland, “Get it Right for Girls”, reveals the extent to which the problem still persists in Scotland in 2016. EIS focus groups reported worrying examples of misogynistic behaviour in schools, including instances of casual misogyny, such as “girly” being used an insult, the negative use of the word “feminist” and assumptions that women and girls should have responsibility for domestic chores.

The link between those damaging early preconceptions and gender inequality later in life is undeniable. Research from the World Health Organization indicates that men and boys who hold preconceived traditional notions about gender and the role of women are also more likely to have hostile and victim-blaming attitudes to women. That presents a real and pressing problem.

The vision of Scottish Women’s Aid that it is possible to create a world without domestic abuse and to eradicate violence against women is one that I share. However, it can be achieved only if we do more to tackle sexist attitudes at every level of our society, including in our schools. I therefore hope that the minister will keep in mind the recommendations of the EIS report and of Zero Tolerance when taking forward the proposed legislation to ensure that we are doing all that we can to tackle violence against women at its root.