Swinney vows to use every aspect of state to ‘root out’ violence against women
The First Minister said he has been open about the ‘shock’ he felt over the summer at the amount of violence against women and girls.
Every aspect of the state is going to be deployed to “root out” violence against women and girls, John Swinney has said.
The First Minister set out his Programme for Government on Tuesday, with one of the key pledges being to tackle violence against women and girls.
Mr Swinney said the Scottish Government would seek to make progress on a previously scrapped misogyny Bill and to launch a multi-year public health campaign to challenge misogynistic attitudes in boys and young men.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, acting Scottish Labour leader Dame Jackie Baillie said that “words are no substitute for action”.
Dame Jackie said the family of Stacy Hunter – who was murdered in July – called for GPS tracking for violent offenders to be implemented.
She said: “Women are being failed even after abusers are known to the justice system. Now, we all remember the tragic killing of Claire Inglis in 2021, murdered after a dangerous boyfriend was bailed to her address.
“And this summer we were all horrified by the murder of Stacy Hunter, killed by a former partner who had been bailed and told to stay away from her.
“Stacy’s family has demanded that the SNP Government catch up with other countries and roll out GPS tracking of violent offenders on bail, but the Justice Secretary has been unable to say when this will be in place.”
Mr Swinney said pilot work is under way to eventually roll out GPS tracking of criminals on bail.
The First Minister said he has been open about the “shock” he felt over the summer at the amount of violence against women and girls, and pledged that “every aspect of the state is going to be deployed to root it out”.
He said: “I don’t think I could have been more open about the sense of shock I feel about what we’ve experienced in Scotland over the summer about the violence against women and girls.
“For all the involvement I’ve had in areas of policy in the past, I am determined to make sure this has got the strongest possible and emphatic leadership from the First Minister.
“I am a male First Minister, at the heart of all of this is the behaviour of men and boys, and there has to be a cultural effort.
“As one dimension of it, the Government’s communication is important. These exchanges are important as well, because it gives me an opportunity to say to Parliament – and to the country – that male violence against women is absolutely and completely unacceptable, and every aspect of the state is going to be deployed to root it out.”
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay also criticised the Scottish Government’s approach to tackling violence against women and girls, asking Mr Swinney to roll back on bail laws that were changed in 2023.
The Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 made holding people in jail before trial a last resort.
Mr Findlay said: “It is welcome that John Swinney wants to personally intervene on escalating violence against women and girls in Scotland, but his actions will speak louder than words.
“It was the SNP Government who put women and girls at risk with their decision to remove tough safeguards as part of their changes to bail laws three years ago.
“They pressed ahead despite being warned not to by the police and victims organisations.
“Their weak bail laws have allowed dangerous scumbags to be free to kill victims like Stacy Hunter and Samantha Lee in recent months, despite having previously attacked them.
“These legal safeguards must be reinstated by Swinney immediately otherwise the safety of more women will be put at risk.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said he attended the funeral of Vikki Solomon, who was murdered in July.
He said: “In our last exchange before recess, I asked the First Minister about protecting women and girls from male violence. In the following month, three Scottish women died at the hands of men. I went to the funeral of one of them.
“Vikki Solomon was 44. She was a mum. A passionate advocate for the beauty industry. She was known to several of us here in this chamber.
“She called the police asking for help, following an assault by the man who, hours later, would go on to kill her. The police did not attend.
“Stacy Hunter was murdered, by an ex-partner, out on bail, who should have been nowhere near her.”