Meeting of the Parliament 05 December 2024
I thank all the organisations that provided briefings for the debate and commend them for the hard work that they do. I also thank For Women Scotland for working with me to sponsor a round-table discussion this week that will highlight violence and sexual harassment in the workplace. I hope that the Government takes that subject seriously and will do more work on it.
Every year, the Parliament holds a debate on the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, and this is the fourth year in a row in which I have contributed to that debate. Every year, MSPs stand in the chamber mentioning statistics, personal experiences and case studies and asking what more can be done. It is very sad to note that, even now, not much has changed.
I personally take violence against women and girls and domestic abuse very seriously. I remember from a young age seeing my mother helping distressed women, who were sometimes in tears, bruised or even bleeding, in her shop in Argyle Street. As I was young, I did not know much at that time. Only years later did I learn that those women were suffering from domestic abuse and violence. My political role has now given me the opportunity to take a stance on that.
The theme for this year’s 16 days of activism is
“Towards Beijing +30: Unite to End Violence Against Women and Girls.”
It refers to the 30th anniversary of the Beijing declaration and the platform for action. These 16 days are not just days; rather, they are a lifetime for people. According to the United Nations, one in three women and girls will experience violence in their lifetime. That includes the one in four adolescent girls who are abused by their partners. Most tragically, a woman is killed by her partner or a family member every 18 minutes, with 60 per cent of femicides being committed by partners or family members. To put that in context, from the beginning to the end of this 80-minute debate, eight women will—tragically—lose their lives. These are real lives, and those statistics are absolutely unacceptable.
Moving closer to home, I note that, shockingly, an incident of domestic abuse is reported to Police Scotland every 10 minutes. Recent figures show that, in the fiscal year 2023-24, the number of domestic abuse incidents reported to Police Scotland rose to almost 64,000. The number of reoffenders has also risen, with reoffending accounting for an estimated 65 per cent of reported cases. Statistics show that, at the same time, the numbers of recorded sexual crimes and domestic abuse incidents have increased by 10 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. Unfortunately, the real figures will be much worse, as many survivors are afraid of reporting such crimes to the police.