That the Parliament commends the work of Sandy Brindley, who has stepped down as chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland after 24 years with the organisation; acknowledges that with more than 30 years within the Rape Crisis movement, Sandy has been at the forefront of initiatives to raise awareness of sexual violence, challenge public attitudes and press for legal change to improve victim-survivors’ experiences of the criminal justice system; notes that while still at university, Sandy began her long association with the Rape Crisis movement, volunteering at the Rape Crisis Centre in Glasgow where she provided one-to-one support to survivors of sexual violence; understands that as a member of the Scottish Law Commission’s Advisory Group, she played a pivotal role in redefining the crime of rape to include male rape, and providing a statutory definition of consent; applauds Sandy’s contribution to the development of NHS SARCs to improve survivors' access to specialist forensic medical examinations; notes that she was instrumental in establishing the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre in 2015, a partnership which provides free legal advice to survivors of gender-based violence and aims to improve women’s legal rights through strategic litigation; recognises the ground-breaking work achieved throughout her career to support victims of gender-based violence and trauma, and wishes her well for the future.
Supported by: Colin Beattie, Stephanie Callaghan, Patrick Harvie, Bill Kidd, Monica Lennon, Fulton MacGregor, Liam McArthur, Kevin Stewart, David Torrance, Elena Whitham