“I would encourage everyone to get involved in this consultation, it’s important that all voices are heard to ensure that this proposed legislation can help tackle the problem of misogynistic harassment,” said Natalie Don MSP, commenting on the launch of a consultation on draft reforms which could create five new laws to provide police and prosecutors with new powers to tackle the corrosive effects of misogyny.

The proposals are based on the recommendations made by the Working Group on Misogyny led by Baroness Kennedy. This concluded that the harmful effects of misogyny meant women and girls required new protection through the criminal law.

Under the proposals, the scope of how current laws tackle misogynistic abuse would be expanded to include threatening, abusive or sexual behaviour directed towards women or girls – because of their gender– which is likely to cause them to feel degradation, humiliation or distress. It would also be used to tackle situations where women or girls are subjected to threatening or abusive messages about rape, sexual assault or disfigurement – either in person, or online.

Natalie Don MSP added:

“Baroness Kennedy’s report provided a stark assessment on the level of misogyny that exists in Scotland. It is unacceptable that women and girls in Scotland are routinely being humiliated, touched, groped, undermined, trolled and objectified both online and off, subjected to threats, harassment and abuse about their looks or desirability. This is stopping women and girls from fully participating in society.

“While existing legislation can be used to prosecute aspects of misogynistic harassment and abuse, it does not accurately identify the particular harm caused by misogyny. It is also extremely important that legislation adequately responds to the problems faced by women therefore the Scottish Government is consulting on further criminal reforms.

“The 8th March saw International Woman’s Day, a day to celebrate the achievements of women but also reflect on the inequalities that still exist. Unfortunately, despite how far we have come in terms of tackling inequality, women still face misogynistic attitudes every day so these specific criminal protections are an important step in challenging society’s tolerance of misogyny.

“I would encourage anyone with an interest in this issue but especially women, to participate in this consultation. It is vital that the lived experiences and opinions of women are taken into account if we are ever going to make real change.”

The consultation will run from 8th March to 2nd June 2023.

Notes:

The five new proposed criminal laws are:

An offence of misogynistic harassment. This would make it a criminal offence for a person to behave in a way that amounts to misogynistic harassment directed at a woman or girl or group of women and girls.
An offence of misogynistic behaviour. Intended to deal with misogynistic behaviour which is likely to have the effecting of causing a woman or girl to experience fear, alarm, degradation, humiliation or distress where that behaviour is not directed at a specific woman or girl (or group of women and girls) and so could not be described as ‘harassment’.
A statutory aggravation concerning misogyny. This would be used where an offence had a misogynistic motive or a person demonstrates misogyny whilst committing a crime. The statutory aggravation would ensure that this motive is recorded and taken into account when sentencing.
An offence of threatening or abusive communications to women or girls that reference rape, sexual assault or disfigurement. This offence criminalises sending an abusive message to a woman or girl that refers to rape, sexual assault or disfigurement
An offence of stirring up hatred against women and girls. This offence is concerned with the effect that the behaviour may be likely to have on the people in whom the perpetrator is seeking to stir up hatred of women and girls.