THE Scottish Parliament will hold a one-minute silence today for all women killed by men this year, marking the 30th anniversary of a global campaign against gender-based violence.
The silence will be held at 11:30am across Parliament for the start of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, ahead of a debate led by Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison on eliminating violence against women and girls.
The Scottish Government is launching a marketing campaign today to encourage survivors of domestic abuse to seek support. The campaign also aims to raise awareness of the landmark Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, which enabled the courts to consider psychological abuse and coercive or controlling behaviour alongside physical assaults and threats.
Speaking ahead of the debate, Ms Robison said:
“Today the Scottish Parliament is coming together to clearly and unequivocally condemn violence against women in Scotland and around the world, and to mourn the deaths of women globally.
“This year we particularly have in mind the tragic cases of Sabina Nessa, Sarah Everard, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, which have shone a spotlight on the violence that many women face. But the awful truth is there are many more murders that do not get the same level of attention – the latest UN figures show that around 87,000 women around the world were killed by men in 2017 alone.
“Violence against women and girls is underpinned by inequality and the attitudes and structural barriers that perpetuate it. That is why the Scottish Government has focused on ensuring that women and children get the help they need, with tackling all forms of gender-based violence as a core priority.
“Within the first 100 days of this government we provided £5 million to rape crisis centres and domestic abuse services to help them cut waiting times, on top of £5.75 million we allocated in 2020-21 to help redesign frontline services. Furthermore, our Delivering Equally Safe Fund is providing £38 million over the next two years to organisations helping to prevent abuse and to aid recovery where it does happen.”
