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Swinney to introduce misogyny education in every school in Scotland

BBC a bald man with glasses is wearing a blue jacket, white shirt and purple tie. He is in a radio studio with a purple and pink backdrop. He has is wearing headphones and has a BBC Scotland microphone in front of himBBC
John Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland's Mornings programme he wants to roll out education and awareness programmes across the country

John Swinney has vowed to introduce programmes to educate pupils about misogyny in every school in Scotland.

The first minister said violence against women and girls was of "such seismic significance" that it made the move necessary.

He has previously described the situation as a "national emergency" with Police Scotland saying more than 200 crimes of violence against women and girls are recorded on average every day.

Swinney said Scotland's education system must be a primary focus to challenge misogynistic behaviour in young boys - and give young girls "the strength and resilience to say, that's not acceptable".

Scottish government Two young people wearing school uniform sit on a sofa both holding mobile phones.Scottish government
The Scottish government previously launched an advertising campaign urging boys not to share misogynistic content online

The first minister told BBC Radio Scotland's Mornings programme presenter Connie McLaughlin: "We've been working over the summer on what I would call preventative interventions.

"These are education programmes and awareness campaigns which are going to be focused on changing the culture of Scottish society.

"Our education system is going to be a primary focus for that, to make sure that boys are educated and supported to understand the implications of what some might think of as casual behaviour, but it has consequences."

He added: "I'm going to make sure that every school in the country is educating young boys about the dangers and risks of misogyny."

Earlier this year, the Scottish government launched an advertising campaign urging boys and young men not to share misogynistic content online.

The adverts warned boys that sexist content is "never harmless" and has the potential to hurt girls, including people they know.

Swinney said the fact that Scotland doesn't have a mandatory education system had meant that some schools had been tackling the issue more vigorously than others.

"I'm going to address that.

"We have got to get alignment between the government and our local authority partners.

"We've got to make sure that's present in every single school in the country."

The first minister said there continued to be debate over the age at which young pupils were introduced to violence-awareness programmes.

"I was criticised heavily when I was education secretary (five years ago) about putting in place materials which were educating young people about concepts such as consent in relationships," he said.

"Some people viewed that it was far too early for that to be undertaken.

"My view was that it was necessary. I think that is inescapable now."

During an hour-long radio phone-in, Swinney said he was "terrified" by the influence of toxic masculinity on young boys and teenagers and was talking to the UK government about tougher online regulations.

He also said he was looking at providing emergency funding for organisations which were struggling to help victims of domestic violence because of long waiting lists.

The first minister was challenged over bail tests by the family of Stacy Hunter, who was murdered at her home near Houston by her estranged husband while he was on bail.

A woman with long brown hair and a yellow top sitting in a restaurant. She is laughing and is covering her mouth with her hand.
Stacy Hunter's death has prompted calls for stronger protection for women

Stacy's brother Sean and their mother Ann have supported calls for a dedicated GPS electronic monitoring scheme for domestic abuse perpetrators who are assessed as posing a significant risk to a partner or former partner.

Earlier this month Swinney announced that, before recess in October, regulations would be lodged to enable the piloting of GPS monitoring for individuals on bail, including those suspected of domestic abuse.

Sean Hunter welcomed news about the GPS tracking but raised concerns about whether the bail system was tight enough.

He said: "We don't want this (GPS tracking) to be used as a tool to release more dangerous people because they'll be tagged."

The first minister said he believed Scotland had a "very strong bail test" which took into account the perspective of victims and the issue of public safety.

However, he said "tragically, there were cases where the judgment was wrong", as in the case of Stacy.

The first minister then gave a personal commitment to the family that he would Scotland's rules on bail.

Swinney said the GPS pilot would start in the Tayside and Fife areas.

He added that if the Scottish government was confident in the system, he hoped to see the initiative rolled out as widely and as quickly as possible.