Safety bid gets windfall

We l f a re b o s s e s a re celebrating a £1 million boost to stamp out violence against women and girls.

The Equally Safe delivery plan includes measures to teach school children the importance of consent and healthy relationships.

It will also see Rape Crisis Scotland’s sexual violence prevention programme rolled out further to reach more communities.

The plan, which contains 118 actions, also includes an ‘Equally Safe’ accreditation scheme which will be developed for employers to promote best practice in tackling gender based violence in the workforce, including sexual harassment.

Equalities Secretary Angela Constance said: “The work carried out by schools is vital if we are to change attitudes and behaviour for the future and the additional funding to expand Rape Crisis’s sexual violence prevention programme is a key part of this.

“It ’ s also important that there is a focus on the workplace – we know that while there are pockets of good practice, employers can do more to protect their staff from harassment and violence and deliver supportive services to victims of violence.

“The development of an accreditation scheme will help drive change in this area.”

Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis Scotland added: “In the past few years, overall levels of crime in Scotland have gone down, so it should be of concern to us all that sexual crimes – much of which is directed at girls and young women – have continued to rise to record levels.

“Over the past four years we’ve worked with over 36,000 young people, providing space for discussions around consent and healthy relationships to support young people to navigate these situations in their own lives.”