Hansard

At the outset of my speech, I want to be clear that men need to do better. There is no excuse for violence against women and girls and, as the statistics show, the main perpetrators are men.

In the past, some considered it to be normal to be violent against women and girls, and some would consider those to be the so-called good old days, when aspects of life were allegedly better than they are today. In those so-called good old days, there was more deprivation, more children were failed at school because of an undiagnosed additional support need, and more women were denied opportunities because their place was at home. There will be many other examples that colleagues from across the chamber could name.

Sadly, too many men associate gender-based violence with masculinity and being macho, but there is absolutely nothing macho about being a bully.

The motion that we are debating mentions national and local efforts. Although we can all agree that violence against women and girls is a global issue, it is important to consider how actions at different levels can effect positive change. At Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conferences, there is always a workshop dedicated to this issue, and some of the testimonies heard by delegates have been horrendous and sobering. Different countries have different cultures and considerations around women and girls and how the issue is dealt with varies, including how it is policed. At the recent CPA conference in October, an MP from South Africa highlighted that, in the rural border areas between South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland, domestic abuse is, sadly, commonplace. It is not always reported to the police and, on many occasions, the perpetrator will go back home before being caught and dealt with.

I therefore want to reflect on Tess White’s amendment, which states:

“reported crimes against women and girls in Scotland are rising”.

It is always a concern to see the number of crimes rising, but, in this instance, I believe that it shows that more women and girls feel empowered to come forward to report such attacks. On the one hand, that demonstrates why we must keep challenging gender-based violence. However, if more perpetrators are caught and dealt with, that is also a positive.

I turn to Ash Regan’s amendment, which was not selected for voting on later. I do not disagree at all with the sentiment behind her bill, but it is still going through the parliamentary process, so I await the stage 1 report by the Criminal Justice Committee. I thought that the recent correspondence from the Swedish police was useful information on what she is trying to achieve.

Maggie Chapman lodged an amendment that is also not up for voting later. It highlighted the problems with “toxic masculinity” and the need to take

“concerted action on misogynistic behaviour online”

and it called for plans to tackle online violence to be

“developed as part of the next refresh of Equally Safe”.

I whole-heartedly agree with her on those points. Social media is pervasive and is being used by bad actors to spread toxic masculine ideas en masse. Those platforms are used to influence young and impressionable boys and adult males who should, quite frankly, know better.

Members know that I keep my private life private and very rarely mention my family here in Parliament, but, for the sake of today’s debate, I will reflect on being a father of two daughters. My wife and I have raised them to stand up for themselves, to take no nonsense from anyone, to be careful when they go out and to just get away if they see any sign of trouble. I am sure that every parent in the chamber has probably done the same. I want my daughters to love life and savour every moment because it really is precious, and keeping themselves safe, particularly online, is an essential part of that.

However, I am also conscious that the messages that we give our kids should not be gendered. If we teach girls how to keep themselves safe but do not teach boys the same, choosing to brush off violent and misogynistic behaviour as boys being boys, we face a losing battle and are doing women and girls a huge disservice.

Fundamentally, there is no easy answer or quick fix—if there was, it would have been found by now. However, educating children about how to be kind to one another, to be respectful and to look out for each other, regardless of their differences, goes a long way towards improving society. Many people will respond by saying that that already happens, but this is not just about teaching that to our kids when they are young. We must also ensure that we, as adults, reflect that message in our behaviour and that we repeat it as our children grow older. Toxic masculinity harms boys and men as well as women and girls. Education to help boys and men away from that is absolutely essential; education is a crucial part of the wider debate.

In closing, I implore every man in the chamber and every male who is watching this or who reads the Official Report at some point in the future to challenge the attitudes that we have been discussing today. We must challenge those attitudes and behaviours whenever we hear or see them, not only during the 16 days of activism but on every single day of the year. Failure to do so will only make us complicit.