Meeting of the Parliament 01 February 2017
I thank everyone who contributed to the debate, which has been consensual and respectful, as Alex Cole-Hamilton said. There has been recognition across the political divide that collective endeavour is required on this matter.
I thank Monica Lennon for her solidarity with our colleague and friend Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, which is much appreciated. It is always encouraging to hear the commitment that exists across the chamber to tackling female genital mutilation and so-called honour-based violence and to supporting survivors of those practices at home and abroad. John Swinney has rightly said that it is important that we debate international issues in this place.
I enjoyed very much listening to Oliver Mundell’s summation. He gave a refreshingly honest account of his own reflections and how we all, at a personal level, need to contemplate change. It is the change that we make as individuals that leads to bigger political and organisational change. He is absolutely right. What matters now is how we turn debate into delivery and words into deeds. My own reflection on his contribution—over and above my shock that I am 19 years older than him—is that I have now had the very strong feeling on a number of occasions in the chamber that there is a feminist in him who is just bursting to get out.
Annie Wells started the debate with personal reflections. She spoke eloquently about the impact of FGM on women’s mental and physical health and about the lifelong scars and consequences of such barbaric action. She spoke about the difficulties and challenges that are associated with that form of violence being behind closed doors.
I give a reassurance to Annie Wells, as well as to Gordon Lindhurst and Miles Briggs, who raised the concern that there cannot be a soft-touch approach in Scotland. We are now looking closely at six provisions in the Serious Crime Act 2015, which is England and Wales legislation. One has already been implemented, subject to the LCM that I mentioned in my opening remarks. In principle, we could quite quickly come to an agreement on most of the provisions and see how they could have an impact in Scotland.
I say directly and honestly to members that we need to look closely and in a detailed manner at one or two provisions in the 2015 act. One is the mandatory reporting requirement for doctors and nurses. We are looking at, listening to and learning from the experience in England and Wales, where there has been controversy and difficulties in relation to data and there has been a bit of pushback on mandatory reporting.
As I said, we are giving all the provisions in the 2015 act full and serious consideration but, for the sake of transparency, it is important to highlight to Parliament that we are struggling with one or two of them. That does not mean that the legislation will not be examined fully. Of course, Parliament will also be given its place.
Mary Fee rightly said that we need to shine a light on the violence and cruelty and be absolutely clear about it by calling it what it is—the abuse and mutilation of children that is quite simply wrong. Like others, she spoke of the importance of educating not just women and girls but boys and men. She echoed the comment of Alex Cole-Hamilton and John Finnie that it is important that so many men participated in the debate.
As always, Ruth Maguire was insightful and thoughtful. She spoke of the objectification of women at home and abroad and about how that wider inequality underpins everyday sexism, which creates a culture that is conducive to violence.
Gordon Lindhurst, who has been mentioned so often in dispatches, Presiding Officer—