Labour has called on the Scottish Government to do more to keep women and girls safe, after it emerged only a third of Scottish schools are running a flagship programme aimed at combating gender-based violence.
Responding to a parliamentary question from Labour in October, Equalities Secretary Kaukab Stewart confirmed 116 out of 361 state-funded secondary schools are registered with the Equally Safe at School programme.
The Government initially forecast that the programme, described as a “whole-school approach to preventing gender-based violence”, would reach 48% of local authority schools by 2020.
Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said: “School is a vital opportunity to break the cycle of abuse and make sure that all young people, especially boys, understand the principles of respect and keeping each other safe.
“Yet it seems that up to two-thirds of pupils may be missing out on this valuable education.
“With recorded domestic abuse incidents on the rise, the SNP must ensure that every child receives the life skills they need to stay safe and interact responsibly with others.”
Labour pointed to domestic abuse and sexual crime figures it said shows gender-based violence is “endemic” in society.
Domestic abuse crimes rose 25% in the year to September 2024, the figures show, with the 31-35 age group seeing the “highest incidence rate”.
Meanwhile, “at least 37%” of the 14,484 sexual crimes recorded in 2023-24 related to a victim under the age of 18, while the victims in the vast majority of rapes and sexual assaults were female.
Violence against women and girls is unacceptable and we are determined to eradicate it
Ms McNeill continued: “Violence against women and girls is endemic and we need to tackle misogyny and sexist attitudes with children to ensure they grow up with healthy attitudes to one another.
“Scottish Labour will support teachers and schools to ensure pupils grow up in a Scotland that is safe for everyone.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Violence against women and girls is unacceptable and we are determined to eradicate it.
“The rise of misogynistic behaviour in schools is deeply concerning and we published our framework on preventing gender-based violence in schools earlier this year to tackle this.
“This framework supports schools to address the underlying causes of gender-based violence, particularly gender inequality, and ensuring appropriate action is taken in response to incidents.
“Our Equally Safe delivery plan contains a range of actions to prevent violence against women and girls across all education settings in Scotland.
“We also continue to fund and support programmes to address gender-based violence and sexual harassment in schools, including Equally Safe at School, and are working with education partners to increase uptake to help prevent violence before it occurs.”
