This has been a fantastic debate—I have scribbled notes all over my papers. Many issues have been raised, so if I do not cover everybody’s points, please give me a shout and I will answer members’ questions after the debate.
I thank and pay tribute to Rona Mackay for lodging the motion, which marks the 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence. During those 16 days, we put the spotlight on what we are doing, but I hope that by the end of my speech members will realise that across Government, other organisations and all our parties, we are working 365 days a year to end gender-based violence.
As we have heard, violence against women and girls is one of the most devastating and fundamental violations of human rights. It is never acceptable: it has to stop, and meaningful action must be taken to stop it. It is the responsibility of every single one of us in society, and every community, to send a clear message that violence and abuse is unacceptable, and to call out the behaviour and choices of the perpetrators. The 16 days of activism campaign is an opportunity for us to come together, as we have done, not only to give new momentum to our ambitions and the campaigns that we all know about, but to mark just how far we have come.
The Scottish Government, through implementation of our strategy in “Equally Safe—Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls”, is strengthening the law, investing in our services and driving a whole-system approach and response that places the survivor at its heart. Nonetheless, we recognise that much more needs to be done. We have just published our “Equally Safe: Year Two Update Report”, which I commend to all members and anyone in the gallery who might be interested in reading it.
I will pick up some of members’ points. Sarah Boyack asked about the equally safe strategy in the workplace. I hope that she will be aware that there is on-going work on that. We have committed to undertaking that work over the next few years, but we published an action plan in February this year, and the strategy is being piloted. I pay tribute to Councillor Mary Donnelly, who is in the gallery. She is one of the councillors who is driving the strategy forward in South Lanarkshire, where the pilot is taking place. I reassure members that we listen to them, and that we are working with others to ensure that that happens.
I am a dog lover: I am off to the Dogs Trust first thing tomorrow morning to view its freedom project. I am aware from talking to many people that knowing that their pet is safe, and that they can take a break and get away from a situation, is incredibly important. We all love our absolutely lovely doggies, so I am looking forward to seeing tomorrow the very important work that the Dogs Trust does to put minds at rest.
Rhoda Grant asked about data, and I want to give her a clear answer. She will be aware that we have established a working group on sex and gender in data, in order to develop guidance and best practice, and to consider how best to use the data. We are doing some work on disaggregation of data and how we use it, and I will certainly look into the Police Scotland issue that she brought up.
Like Ruth Maguire, I feel a bit sad when I remember that I have spoken in just about every debate on this topic in the chamber. I remember watching a youthful Jackie Baillie in the very first debate on the issue in the Scottish Parliament, when I was a young social worker. It is a mark of this Parliament that one of the first issues that we tackled when the Scottish Parliament was established 20 years ago was domestic violence and violence against women.
Members might have seen the article that I wrote for The Scotsman on Monday, in which I said that we should never stop being shocked—we should never stop being shocked about the need for the debate that we are having today, or about the impact that gender-based violence has on people.
James Dornan talked about financial control and coercive control and behaviour; I highlight that our groundbreaking Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 is now in force.
Beatrice Wishart eloquently highlighted issues around coercive control and behaviour. We are committed to introducing more legislation on domestic abuse protection orders, which will be another step forward. I see that the Presiding Officer is smiling, because that is one of the things for which she has been asking for a while. We are working towards that.
We are also taking steps to drive improvements in responses to rape and sexual assault. This morning, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport introduced to Parliament the Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Bill. We are supporting a pilot on visually recording rape complainants’ initial statements to police, and we are working to ensure that survivors get access to support through additional investment in front-line services.
That takes me on to Rape Crisis Scotland, to which I pay tribute for its work. The STAMP—stamp out media patriarchy—project’s work in schools on sexual violence and consent, and the support to report scheme, are dealing with some of the issues that we face. We are investing record amounts of money—approximately £12 million—in front-line services, and additional money was provided for Rape Crisis’s centres last year. The three-year funding round is coming to an end, and as soon as the budget is resolved I will be able to resolve all the funding issues that members have raised today.
It is vital that we keep our focus on ending all forms of violence against women, and that we move forward with a shared understanding of the underlying story of casual violence, which needs to change and end for good. Many members have highlighted the need to tackle prostitution, human trafficking and many other issues.
A huge amount has been achieved this year, but we should not rest on our laurels and think only about what we have done. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the many feminist activists who are here today—and those who are not—who have worked every day to consign gender-based violence to the dustbin of history. However, we still have work to do.
Some of us are wearing our orange badges, from the Soroptimists, and some of us are wearing our white ribbons. We all wear our badges with pride, and we know about the importance of men as allies through the white ribbon campaign.
My Scotsman article on Monday paid tribute to Fiona Drouet, who tragically lost her daughter, Emily, to suicide following domestic abuse. Fiona has been relentless in driving forward change in universities and colleges. It has been an immense privilege to work with her, and I look forward to continuing to do so.
Like me, many members have visited the “GlassWalls” art installation in Parliament and have mentioned doing so. It is a wonderful piece of work. I have known Emma Forbes for a couple of years, since the project was just a wee idea, so to see it manifested in our Parliament is an absolute joy. James Dornan was right to highlight and pay tribute to the work of the Daisy Project. Telling the stories through the medium of art is an inspiring example of the power of the Daisy Project women. I commend Dr Emma Forbes, Charles Provan, Brian Waugh and the talented artistic team of men and women who have worked on the “GlassWalls” project. The installation tells me that we need to have the lived experience of women at the heart of everything that we do to tackle violence against women and girls, and that we must build a Scotland where everyone can live equally safe.
I will finish with the words of that artwork:
“We do believe you. Your word is enough. We walk with purpose.”
Meeting closed at 18:11.