Leaders vow zero tolerance of misogyny on campaign trail
Amid mounting outrage at the vitriol and threats directed at women politicians and campaigners, Scotland’s political leaders yesterday pledged zero tolerance of misogynistic abuse in the forthcoming Holyrood election.
Nicola Sturgeon First Minister and SNP leader
Women in politics and public life in general have, for far too long, been subjected to horrendous levels of misogyny and gender-based abuse. That is appalling and it needs to stop. While progress has been made in terms of ensuring more women are able to participate in frontline politics, too often we see that ugly, sexist attitudes still linger and have not been left entirely in the past, where they belong. The SNP is utterly committed to supporting all moves to end gender-based discrimination, and I am happy to endorse a zero-tolerance policy in the coming Holyrood election.
Anas Sarwar Scottish Labour leader
There is absolutely no place for misogyny, racism or any other form of hatred in our politics, and we will take a zero-tolerance approach to this. I have worked hard over the past few years to bring our diverse communities together and promote greater tolerance, and I will bring this approach to my leadership of Scottish Labour.
Douglas Ross
Scottish Conservatives leader
Each and every one of us has a duty to lead by example in calling out misogyny. There is no place for it in our party or our country. Disagreement is central to political debate but that must be respectful and should not descend into personal or sexist abuse.
Willie Rennie
Scottish Liberal Democrats leader
There should be no place for sexist or misogynistic behaviour in any election campaign. No one should feel excluded from Scottish public life on the basis of their gender, nor should anyone standing for public office face threats for standing up for what they believe in.
Lorna Slater
Scottish Greens co-leader
Politics remains dominated by men, and this is entrenched by a toxic macho culture of online abuse. The Scottish Greens have selected women to the top of most of our regional lists and we will make sure their voices are heard.