MSP backs proposals

Renfrewshire MSP Natalie Don has given her backing to a raft of reforms which would give police greater powers to tackle misogyny.

The proposals are based on recommendations made by the working group on misogyny, led by Baroness Kennedy, who concluded that the harmful effects of misogyny meant women and girls required new protection through the law. Five new criminal laws have been suggested:

•An offence of misogynistic harassment

This would make it a criminal offence for a person to behave in a way amounting 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 the behaviour may be likely to have on the people in whom the perpetrator is seeking to stir up hatred of women and girls.

Ms Don, Renfrewshire North and West MSP, said: “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.”