Equally Safe delivery plan: year two update report

Introduction and Overview

Violence against women and girls is a fundamental violation of human rights. It has no place in our vision for a safe, strong and successful Scotland.

Equally Safe is Scotland’s Strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls (alternatively known as gender based violence). For the purposes of the strategy and this report, violence against women and girls includes (but is not limited to):

• physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family (including children and young people), within the general community or in institutions, including domestic abuse, rape, and incest
• sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation in any public or private space, including work
• commercial sexual exploitation, including prostitution, lap dancing, stripping, pornography and trafficking
• child sexual abuse, including familial sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation and online abuse
• so called ‘honour based’ violence, including dowry related violence, female genital mutilation, forced and child marriages, and ‘honour’ crimes.

The gendered analysis that underpins Equally Safe recognises that women and girls are disproportionately affected by violence precisely because they are women and girls. It recognises that this violence stems from deep rooted and systemic gender inequality and the subordinate position women occupy in society in relation to men.

We recognise we will not make progress unless we tackle the root causes of women’s inequality, and challenge the outdated gender stereotypes and societal attitudes towards women and girls that allow gender based violence to flourish. The Equally Safe Delivery Plan contains a total of 118 different actions across four overarching priorities in order to help us do this. The actions and activities in the plan are designed to deliver against these priorities and associated objectives. The purpose of this report is therefore to provide an insight and update into progress that has been made over the last year.