Webwatch – Equally Safe: Eradicating violence against women
Equally Safe is a new blog from the Scottish Government which aims to provide information and updates on some of the work happening across Scotland to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls.
Equally Safe is the framework which guides this work. Equally Safe states that Violence Against Women and Girls (VaWG) in any form has no place in Scotland; it impacts adversely on health and wellbeing, limits freedom of potential and violates human rights. VaWG is underpinned by gender inequality, and in order to prevent and eradicate it from society the focus of Equally Safe will be on delivering greater gender equality, tackling perpetrators, and intervening early and effectively to prevent violence.
Equally Safe are working with justice agencies, local government and the third sector to ensure that those who commit violence and abuse are brought to justice, and ultimately prevent and eradicate all forms of Violence Against Women.
The scale of the problem
Tthe Scottish Crime and Justice Survey – an annual survey measuring adults’ experiences and perceptions of crime in Scotland – collects information on women’s experience of sexual victimisation and stalking through the self-completion section of the questionnaire and found that:
- 3% of adults had experienced serious sexual assault (including forcing or attempting to force someone to have sexual intercourse or take part in another sexual activity when they did not want to) since the age of 16. This varied by gender, with 4% of women experiencing serious sexual assault since the age of 16 compared with 1% of men.
- 8% of adults experienced at least one type of less serious sexual assault (including indecent exposure, sexual threats and sexually touching when it was not wanted) since the age of 16. This proportion was higher for women, with 13 per cent experiencing at least one form of less serious sexual offence since the age of 16, compared to two per cent of men.
- 6% of adults reported experiencing at least one form of stalking and harassment in the last 12 months. While the overall risk of stalking and harassment was equal for men and women, the risk varied according to the type of stalking and harassment. For example, of those who reported receiving unwanted emails or texts, 49 per cent were male and 51 per cent were female. In contrast, of those who experienced someone waiting or loitering outside their home or workplace, 71 per cent were female and 29 per cent were male.
There is also evidence to suggest that adolescent and young women face a higher risk of violence from a partner than older groups. For example, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey found that younger adults were more likely to have experienced abuse by a partner in the last 12 months, with rates varying from 5% of 16-24 year olds who had contact with a partner or ex-partner in that time to less than 1% of those aged 65 or older. In another study, published by NSPCC, one in three 13 to 17 year olds reported some form of sexual partner violence.
