Young People in Scotland Survey 2021: attitudes to violence against women and girls

Introduction

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains a significant issue in Scotland. The COVID-19 pandemic created additional risks for women, including an increase in domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women.^[3] Women and girls continue to be the victims of a spectrum of violence, ranging from misogynistic attitudes to serious sexual and violent crime.^[4] Our understanding of VAWG is rooted in a gendered analysis, which acknowledges that women are at increased risk of certain types of violence and abuse (e.g. sexual assaults and domestic abuse) because they are women. A summary of Scottish Government policy initiatives and legislative developments to tackle VAWG can be found in Annex A and Annex B respectively.

While measuring the prevalence of abusive behaviour represents a vital pillar in the design of policy and practice in this area, understanding public attitudes is a key source of evidence. Data on attitudes towards VAWG among Scottish adults aged 16 and over was gathered in the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey in 2014 and 2019 (see Annex C for a summary of key findings).

This report presents the findings from the Young People in Scotland (YPIS) 2021 module on Scottish secondary school pupils' attitudes towards VAWG. The module of questions asked in 2021 replicated those asked in the 2014 YPIS, allowing for identification of changes in pupils' attitudes in the intervening seven years. This report also explores how attitudes vary by a range of pupil characteristics including gender^[5], presence of a long-term physical or mental health condition, ethnicity and religious identity.