Chamber and committees

Are you saying that the specialist court is the High Court or not? We need to be clear about that. Either it is or it is not. If it is not, that means that it is not the senior court. You can disagree with me. I am saying that you cannot put rape cases in a specialist court—well, perhaps that is not the intention. There is obviously a difference between sexual offence cases, which are non-rape cases, and rape cases.

I welcome that high level of engagement with the sector. The hospitality sector welcomes the introduction of testing to the certification scheme, but it notes that the scheme will still have an on-going impact. We have seen that from the experience in Wales, where there is a 20 per cent reduction in all trade levels in the sector. The Scottish Beer and Pub Association says that there has been a drop of 40 per cent in trade since the introduction of the Covid passport scheme—not just from normal times. What further steps can be taken to provide more frequent and widespread communication to the public that they can test before they go out to nightclubs and other hospitality sector venues, to deliver more spontaneous visits where it is safe to do so?

To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last met with key stakeholders, including business owners, to discuss the Covid-19 vaccine certification scheme. (S6O-00493)

First, I thank Paul McLennan for bringing this subject to members’ business this evening. I apologise to you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and to members, as I will have to leave a wee bit early to attend a session with the Presiding Officer this evening. I hope that members know that I am absolutely committed to this important issue. This is the third time that I, like others, have spoken on it in the past couple of weeks.

In recent times, we have witnessed an increase in domestic violence, the murder of women and so on. That is a reminder, if it was ever needed, that, sadly, violence against women is endemic in our society, and it is a global problem. We face the endemic problem of violence against women by men not just in Scotland and the UK, but across the world. We must do our bit.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, violence against women is men’s violence against women. When some men say, “It’s not all men,” they are perhaps missing the point. Of course not all men are violent. The point that I hope Paul McLennan is trying to make—and I agree—is that men must be part of the solution. We cannot do it without men. Men must address the problem among their own sex.

The issue of violence against women has probably not had the highest priority that it should have. This Parliament must make a difference. We must believe that, by the end of the four-and-a-bit years that we still have to go in this session, we will begin to change the picture and reverse the statistics. For decades, there has been a lack of male voices speaking about violence against women. I hope that that is changing—and it may be changing.

It is important to have a serious analysis of why women are subjected to everyday sexism and workplace sexism. The speeches that have been made already have addressed different parts of our society, but sexism is everywhere we might want to look. I recently read the story about women in the military, who said that it became commonplace for them to be expected to be groped in training sessions. That is in our military—and we know that we have endemic problems in our police service, too.

I believe that there is a big connection with what happens in our schools and the way that women and girls are treated. I was shocked to watch the recent BBC documentary with Zara McDermott, “Uncovering Rape Culture”, which examined the burgeoning rape culture in British schools. Last week, I called for an assessment of whether we have that problem in Scotland. I would be surprised if we did not. It was shocking to learn that boys as young as nine or 10 were viewing online pornography, and I believe that that affects the way that they view girls and understand sex.

A recent report by academics from University College London and the University of Kent, among other institutions, highlighted that the sending and receiving of unsolicited sexual images is now becoming “dangerously normalised”. Such normalisation gives me cause for concern, especially for girls. The study, which involved young people who were aged between 12 and 18, found that most girls had received an image of male genitalia, often from adult men who were strangers. The report said:

“Unfortunately, this form of image-based sexual harassment was often experienced on a regular ... basis.”

More than half the boys and girls who received unwanted sexual content online or had their image shared without their consent did nothing about it. Girls felt pressured into trading intimate images with boys who sent unsolicited pictures. Girls were mocked or bullied, and their photos were shared among their classmates.

We must know whether that is happening in Scottish schools and we must understand the connection with how girls and women are treated. Social media such as TikTok and Snapchat must be tackled, because they enable some grooming to take place.

I whole-heartedly agree with the motion. The situation must change, with the collective efforts of the parties and the individuals who have spoken eloquently, who believe with all their heart in doing that. For women and girls in our country, we must use the Parliament to make a fundamental change in the figures and stop women being violated and girls being abused.

I thank the cabinet secretary for that information. He will be aware there has been an 18-fold increase in seizures of so-called street Valium in the space of a year, while seizures of psychoactive substances have nearly doubled. I would like further assurance that the cabinet secretary will be mindful of the need for that successful work to continue and not be compromised in any way.

I commend the minister for the excellent speeches that he has made on the subject and for the work that the Scottish Government is doing.

However, twice in the chamber I have raised the question of what has been happening in some schools in England, where girls have been subjected to unsolicited graphic images—and boys, too, to an extent. Paul O’Kane’s point was well made. There is an issue, but we do not really know what is going on in schools. Has the Scottish Government thought about addressing that by trying to find out what is actually going on? Perhaps the gender stereotyping of boys and the expectations on them are a factor in all this—we can perhaps make a direct connection there. In some ways, things might be worse for young people now than they were in my day. Does the minister agree that we need to explore the matter in Parliament?

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there should be more programmes in the school curriculum that aim to prevent violence in dating and intimate partner relationships. (S6O-00472)

Evidence from Canada and the US shows that school-based programmes that seek to prevent violence in dating and intimate partner relationships are effective, so I welcome that answer. A recent report by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills said that in the 32 schools in England that were inspected, nine out of 10 girls said that unsolicited explicit pictures or videos were sent to them or their friends, and the chief inspector of schools in England, Amanda Spielman, stated that it is

“alarming that many children and young people, particularly girls, feel that they have to accept sexual harassment as part of growing up.”

Can the minister tell me whether that is happening to any extent in Scottish schools? It would be deeply concerning if it was. Can she investigate the matter if she does not know? Will she keep me informed of the development of the programme that she referred to?

The enhanced surveillance that the First Minister talked about earlier and the vaccine roll-out are extremely impressive and give people hope that we can fight the virus. Given the massive pressures on the booster programme and the wider eligibility, including reducing the time after the second dose from three months to six weeks, does the First Minister think that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde should be resourced to again set up the NHS Louisa Jordan as a vaccination centre, because it was a critical venue in achieving our current success?

I thank the cabinet secretary for the chance to question him on this important area of policy.

The report is damning on Scotland’s approach to deaths in custody. Prison officials have been accused of corporate homicide for their failures in the investigation of the deaths of, to name but a few, Allan Marshall, whose family does not feel that it has any answers; and William Lindsay, or Brown, and Katie Allan, whose families still await a fatal accident inquiry.

The report goes on to say that the Scottish Prison Service is seeking to limit accountability, that there is a “lack of family engagement” at

“every step of the journey”,

and that

“humanity and compassion are at times compromised”.

The cabinet secretary will know that the evidence shows that the involvement of families in fatal accident inquiries and investigations makes a huge difference to any outcome and recommendations.

Does the cabinet secretary believe that the independent body should have unfettered access to all relevant material, including the data, and that there should be a duty on the Scottish Prison Service to retain all relevant information, as the report recommends?

In responding to Jamie Greene’s question, the cabinet secretary has answered my question about whether the independent body will be able to shorten the time that it takes to get answers. The cabinet secretary said that it could do so.

Finally, does the cabinet secretary believe that, in order to change the direction of the horrendous figures and the way that families are treated, the new body must be given unfettered access so that it can provide the answers that families need?