Highland human rights ‘disgrace’ highlights ‘neglect’ of north communities
Holyrood Notebook by Rhoda Grant
Last week the Scottish Human Rights Commission released their spotlight project report on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Highlands and Islands.
This was commissioned in 2023 and since then I have met with the Human Rights Commission to discuss issues constituents regularly face and I have seen them visit various parts of the Highlands and Islands.
I want to thank the commission for their hard work on this project. It is clear from reading the report that they have genuinely listened, which is encouraging. This report, though, makes shocking reading and shows the lack of action by our current SNP government.
To hear that people living in the Highlands and Islands do not have any of their human rights adequately met under international law definitions is disgraceful and it highlights the decades of neglect by government.
It is clear what works in the central belt does not necessarily work in rural areas.
I cannot cover every point in this column, however, I was particularly concerned by the call for urgent action to be taken to tackle rooflessness and hunger in the Highlands and Islands. These issues were meant to be addressed in the Human Rights Bill but unfortunately the Scottish Government shelved it.
To quote from this report: “Current policies and strategies do not seem sufficient to progressively realise the right to food in the Highlands and Islands.” This highlights more than ever that enshrining the human right to food in Scots Law is necessary.
I currently have a Members Bill on the Right to Food making its way through parliament and I am pressing the Scottish Government to work with me on delivering it as soon as possible.
Additionally, the commission’s report covers various health inequalities across the Highlands and Islands. I welcome their highlighting the challenges Caithness women face when accessing maternity and women’s services.
The reality is that the SNP government know that these challenges exist and they have known for years. This report just underpins their neglect to address them and I will continue to raise all these issues in the Scottish Parliament chamber.
Turning to council policy, I am very concerned about the potential open tendering of Women’s Aid services in Highland. That Highland Council plans to contract for a single service for women and men shows a total ignorance of the impact of domestic abuse.
All four Women’s Aid organisations that support women in Highland provide invaluable, specialised, on-the-ground services to women and children who are victims of domestic abuse. During these difficult economic times, money should be invested into these services – not taken away.
Men do also require domestic abuse services, however, these must be separate because it is well documented that domestic abuse perpetrated by men against women is much more prevalent and is rooted in women’s inequality, like every aspect of violence against women, and therefore needs a very different approach.
It is therefore essential that services for women are designed and delivered by women and I have written to Highland Council to urge them to reconsider.
• Rhoda Grant is a Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands.
