Hansard

I welcome the motion, which comes in the run-up to the 16 days of activism against gender violence. The 16 days run from 25 November, which is the international day for the elimination of violence against women, to 10 December, which is international human rights day, taking in 6 December, which marks the anniversary of the Montreal massacre of 1989, in which a man shot and killed 14 women engineering students for being feminists. That event brought people together internationally to combat violence against women.

Of course, the problem was not new. Campaigners in Scotland set up organisations such as Women's Aid and Rape Crisis Scotland in the 1970s. The fact that, 30 years on, we are still struggling to end abuse and violence against women is not a cause for celebration, but it is right that today we mark the work that has been done. I applaud the stamina and commitment of the women who have campaigned for and supported victims of abuse over the past three decades.

Progress has been made, in some areas more than in others. A big plus has been the participation in the policy process with the Scottish Executive of people who are involved on the front line to frame the national strategy to address domestic abuse in Scotland. It is vital that folk who have front-line experience are actively involved in changing policy and improving the situation in Scotland. We should celebrate that.

The entrenched nature of the problem has been highlighted. Changing attitudes was never going to be easy, but attitudes have changed. We now recognise problems that were hidden or barely visible in the past. People now rarely speak about "battered women", as if what has happened to them is their fault.

Although many people still think that violence is the most disturbing aspect of abuse, many women say that they have been scarred more deeply by the emotional abuse and controlling behaviour of their former partners. Emotional abuse can accompany many other forms of abuse, or it may occur in isolation. It can take the form of insults, constant criticism, threats, degradation, humiliation or convincing a woman that she has a mental illness—the man might say, "Och, she's no right in the heid, it's all her fault." Money might be withheld, making it impossible for the woman to budget, for which she is punished. The woman can be isolated from her friends and family, or the man might fall out with her family, embarrass her in front of her friends, prevent her from socialising or imprison her. Those women who experience emotional abuse can find it extremely difficult to cope with daily life. Even though it destroys their self-esteem and self-worth, many women find such abuse difficult to report and to get help with.

Sexual abuse is common, although women are often reluctant to report or discuss it. Indeed, as a society, we are highly reluctant to discuss sexual abuse. It includes a wide range of sexual acts into which women are forced or coerced. It can involve the use of pornographic material or the woman being photographed or filmed, or subjected to anal sex, rape or sexual assault with an object. Having contraception withheld, being forced to have an abortion or to engage in prostitution or being subject to female genital mutilation are other forms of such abuse.

Although the severity of the abuse varies, there are common characteristics. The incidents are seldom isolated—they tend to be repeated over time and often extend to children who live in the same home. They often increase in severity and frequency and are particularly common during pregnancy or following the birth of a child.

In my area, there are several organisations that have an excellent track record of working with women and children, as well as male victims of abuse, over many years. They include Women's Aid, Open Secret and Central Scotland Rape Crisis. Falkirk is also the base for Sacro and the change programme, which work with perpetrators.

I welcome the minister's comment on the assist pilot in Glasgow, which brings together all the agencies that are involved in supporting victims through the domestic abuse court. The statistics clearly demonstrate the court's success, as do the testimonies of those who have used it. I look forward to the extension of domestic abuse courts, which I hope will be backed up by the spreading of the assist programme to other parts of Scotland. It is vital that such an important project is rolled out throughout Scotland.

Although rape reporting has risen, conviction rates have not, so I welcome the proposal to adopt reformed procedures for dealing with rape victims, which should make it easier to secure a conviction.

It is important that the Parliament reviews and discusses men's violence against women and children regularly, so I am sad that so few of my male colleagues are present for the debate. We are not talking about a women's issue; it is an issue for our whole community, on which we will not achieve change unless the men in the Parliament and elsewhere address it.