WIREDGOV

Our response to an independent report on how the Scottish criminal justice system deals with misogyny faced by women and girls.

The Independent Working Group on Misogyny and Criminal Justice in Scotland, chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, completed its work with the publication of its report - Misogyny: a human rights issue - on 8 March 2022.  

On the day of publication of the report, the First Minister welcomed the Working Group’s report in principle stating that ‘the report highlighted ways in which the law was currently failing women and girls, and it gave powerful voice to the stark reality of the misogyny faced by women in everyday life’ and that ‘its recommendations are bold and they are far reaching’.

The Working Group made a number of recommendations based on its findings and conclusions – some are ground-breaking in their nature, seeking to address misogynistic conduct that women and girls suffer as a daily occurrence in Scotland.

This is an important piece of work to help inform policy to address the many forms of violence, transgression and abuse experienced by women which may emanate from misogyny and is a milestone in making our society safe, equal and fair.

Scotland led the way in creating a zero tolerance position to domestic abuse, by creating the first domestic abuse offence which explicitly recognised and defined the different ways in which coercive and controlling behaviours can be used in domestic abuse. We are also continuing to implement ‘Equally Safe’, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls.  Developing the detail of how legislation can address and respond to misogynistic behaviours will complement these wider initiatives. 

The law can of course only go so far to deliver a policy of eradicating violence against women and girls. It is only by changing the misogynistic attitudes that all too often prevail, alongside law reform that can mean Scotland becomes a place where women and girls can seek to fulfil their full potential unhindered by misogyny.

Women should be free from misogynistic acts, threats, harassment or verbal attacks and we must be mindful of women’s human rights, including those contained in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (known as the “Istanbul Convention”).

As the centrepiece of our approach, development of draft legislative provisions will be taken forward and published for consultation prior to a Bill being introduced in the Scottish Parliament.

The report recommends the creation of new criminal law provisions in four areas. Three of these are new offences criminalising specific forms of misogynistic conduct and the fourth is the creation of a new sentencing aggravation to address the spectrum of misogynistic conduct.

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