Meeting of the Parliament 07 March 2024
We absolutely do. That issue has had cross-party support in the past, and we can continue that support across parties to ensure that women who have had horrendous crime inflicted on them get the healthcare and support that they need.
I have spent a lot of time in the debate talking about the heinous crimes that are committed against women globally. I turn my attention back to the UK, where I began my remarks. Although we need to speak about things that are happening right across the world, here, too, women need their Governments to work for them, to promote them, to encourage them, to give them opportunities and, most importantly, to protect them and their rights.
Whether it is fulfilling the Government’s pledge to introduce free, funded childcare from nine months onwards; encouraging more girls to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects; protecting single-sex spaces; or introducing laws to protect women if they are victims of crime, women just want Governments to get on with it. That is a really important message that we can try to come together today to bring. Debates on those issues are for another day, because they belong in various portfolios and we do not have enough time to debate all of them in isolation.
I close by turning to all parents and carers who are bringing up, guiding, coaching and inspiring future generations of young women, in Scotland and beyond. I just want to say thank you. Thank you for everything that you do to raise the next generation of women who, I hope, will go on to be leaders in business, economics and academia, or—dare I say it?—a future First Minister or Prime Minister.
We, as parliamentarians, have so much to do to improve the lives of women, but it makes me proud to be an MSP on days like this, when we can all come together to celebrate international women’s day.