NICOLA Sturgeon has welcomed recommendations “in principle” that would make misogynistic harassment a specific criminal offence.
After the sex characteristic was left out of the Scottish Government’s hate crime legislation, a working group led by Helena Kennedy to investigate the possibility of a separate misogyny offence has now made recommendations to Scottish ministers.
In her report, published on International Women’s Day, Baroness Kennedy’s work has recommended a new Misogyny and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act which will create new offences of stirring up hatred against women and girls, public misogynistic harassment and issuing threats of, or invoking rape or sexual assault or disfigurement of women and girls online and offline.
A new "statutory misogyny aggravation" will be created, which will operate outside of the Hate Crime Act which means that a "judge has to take account of the misogynistic nature of the conduct when sentencing".
Speaking in a debate to mark International Women’s Day, the First Minister insisted that “we must change for good the culture of misogyny that has normalised such behaviour for far too long” as she labelled Baroness Kennedy’s report “powerful and compelling”.
READ MORE: SNP recommended to make misogynistic harassment an offence
She added: “Its recommendations are bold and they are far reaching.”
Pointing to the proposal for a misogyny aggravator, Ms Sturgeon said that “in anticipation of concerns about freedom of thought and speech”, it was wise to point out “this would not criminalise misogyny per se”.
The First Minister said: “But it would allow crimes, assault for example, which are motivated by misogyny to be treated more seriously in sentencing.
“Importantly it would not apply to crimes, such as rape, which are inherently misogynistic.”
Highlighting the specific new offences set out in Baroness Kennedy’s recommendations, Ms Sturgeon acknowledged this could “reflect and better address the daily lived experience of too many women”.
Ms Sturgeon said: “The Scottish Government welcomes these recommendations in principle.
“We will now of course, give full consideration to the detail and we will respond formally as soon as possible.”
The First Minister told MSPs that the report “matters beyond the detail of the specific recommendations it makes”, adding that “it gives powerful voice to the stark realities of everyday life for women”.
She said: “It recognises that misogyny is endemic, and that it blights the lives of women every single day.
“And it rightly points out, that not all men are misogynist - but all women do experience misogyny.”
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