Scottish Government Debate: Preventing Violence Against Women for an Equally Safe Scotland

1. John Swinney S7M-01163 That the Parliament condemns violence against women and girls in all its forms, noting that this includes physical, psychological and online abuse; acknowledges the significant damage and harm that such violence causes to women, girls and wider society; recognises that eradicating such violence requires a focus on prevention and on challenging the attitudes and behaviours that fundamentally underpin violence against women and girls, and agrees to demonstrate collective leadership in challenging and changing sexist and misogynistic attitudes among boys, men and those who seek to influence and stoke such damaging behaviour. Further details available for S7M-01163 2. Amanda Lindsay S7M-01163.2 As an amendment to S7M-01163 in the name of John Swinney (Preventing Violence Against Women for an Equally Safe Scotland), leave out from "recognises" to end and insert, "regrets that private citizens were required to take legal action against the Scottish Government before it was able to define what a woman is; recognises that policy to tackle violence against women and girls has to combine multiple angles, however, believes that tarring all men and boys with the same brush as the few who hold such attitudes and commit violent acts risks creating further division and unfairly attributes harm to those who are not responsible for it; believes that the views that some male immigrants have are incompatible with the Scottish Government's previously expressed desire to tackle misogyny; highlights statistics which, it believes, indicate a connection between immigrants from certain countries and a marked increase in violent crimes, and calls on the Scottish Government to publish statistics on violent crime by immigration status and nationality, in order to ensure that all relevant evidence is available to inform action to bring an end to violence against women and girls." Further details available for S7M-01163.2 3. Jackie Baillie S7M-01163.1 As an amendment to motion S7M-01163 in the name of John Swinney (Preventing Violence Against Women for an Equally Safe Scotland), insert at end "; welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to introduce a pilot of GPS monitoring for suspected domestic abusers released on bail, and calls on the Scottish Government to outline urgently a timetable for its implementation and wider roll-out." Further details available for S7M-01163.1 4. Russell Findlay S7M-01163.3 As an amendment to motion S7M-01163 in the name of John Swinney (Preventing Violence Against Women for an Equally Safe Scotland), insert at end “; recognises with concern that crimes of a sexual nature and domestic abuse are increasing in Scotland but that many victims still do not report them to the police; notes that Scottish Government legislation passed in 2023 removed a presumption against bail for those accused of sexual or domestic abuse offences despite warnings from female crime victims and groups representing them that this would cause further harm to women; further notes with concern a 2024 report by HM Inspectorate of Prosecutions in Scotland, which found that bail breaches are not always taken seriously by the justice system; believes that delays in the justice system and a lack of transparency around plea deals between prosecutors and accused criminals continue to cause trauma to victims; further believes that proposals in a recent Scottish Government consultation risk further weakening sentencing by damaging judicial independence and failing to properly punish perpetrators; considers that these proposals are partly as a result of the government’s failure to build sufficient prison capacity in order to keep the public safe; further considers that sentencing guidelines, which recommend non-custodial sentences for criminals aged under 25, are unjust and detrimental to women who have suffered violence or sexual violence by adult males aged under 25, and calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that women and girls are protected by the justice system by reinstating safeguards for bail and remand, treating bail breaches seriously, abandoning its plans for automatic early release for all long-term prisoners and scrapping the under 25 sentencing guidelines.” Further details available for S7M-01163.3