Swinney vows action to tackle ‘curse’ of misogyny but specific new laws dropped

First Minister John Swinney has declared misogyny to be a “significant curse” on Scottish society – at the same time as it emerged his Government is dropping plans to bring forward legislation to tackle the problem in the current Holyrood term.

Mr Swinney insisted that instead of bringing forward specific laws to tackle misogyny – the dislike of, contempt for, or prejudice against women – SNP ministers will instead seek to amend existing hate crime legislation.

Confirmation that legislation will not be introduced at Holyrood was branded a “shameful backward step” and a “humiliating U-turn” by opposition MSPs.

An online statement from the Government said while it had “previously committed to the introduction of a misogyny Bill”, it is a “complex area of policy and law”.

Adding that the implications of the recent Supreme Court judgment on the definition of a woman would have to considered in any legislation, it said there is “insufficient time” before next May’s Holyrood election “for a Bill to be finalised and introduced in this session”.

It’s little surprise it has been scrapped. Who would trust SNP ministers to legislate to criminalise misogyny when they can’t even say what a woman is?

However Mr Swinney said his Government will still act, vowing changes will be made to the Hate Crime Act “to ensure the issue of misogyny can be addressed”.

Speaking after an event in Glasgow, the First Minister said: “I want to make sure that we take the measures to tackle misogyny and that we protect women and girls in our society.

“We have to recognise that the issues that arise out of the Supreme Court judgment will take us longer to consider in developing a misogyny Bill.

“So what we can do is take action at an earlier stage, amend the hate crime legislation to ensure the issue of misogyny can be addressed.”

He said this will mean the Government takes “the early action that is required to address this significant curse in our society”.

He promised: “We’re going to take action by amending the hate crime legislation at the earliest possible opportunity, we will do that in this parliamentary term to address the legitimate concerns about misogyny which is a curse on Scottish society.”

But Green MSP Maggie Chapman said: “Violence against women and girls is a national emergency. The misogyny Bill was a vital step in ensuring that reports of harassment and assault are taken seriously.”

She said the decision not to proceed with the Bill is a “shameful backward step”.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton was also critical, saying the move “looks like a humiliating U-turn from John Swinney and co”.

She added: “The misogyny Bill is just the latest in a litany of paused, ditched or botched Sturgeon-era policies.

“It’s little surprise it has been scrapped. Who would trust SNP ministers to legislate to criminalise misogyny when they can’t even say what a woman is?

“Misogyny remains a serious problem and it’s crucial that women and girls are protected from all forms of threatening and abusive behaviour in a way that safeguards their rights.”

Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill also hit out, saying: “This is a shameful broken promise to Scottish women at a time when misogynistic hatred is on the rise.”

Ms McNeill said: “The SNP has spent years kicking this issue into the long grass by insisting this approach wouldn’t work, only to perform a screeching U-turn.

“If the SNP had listened to Scottish Labour and other women MSPs who argued for this in 2021, we would already have this protection in place.”

The Labour MSP added: “The SNP has wasted the last four years and left women unprotected for no good reason, and now seems to be abandoning the other protections that Baroness Kennedy said were required to protect women – it is a shambles.”

Christine Jardine, the women and equalities spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat also insisted not bringing forward a Bill was “the wrong thing to do”.

The Lib Dem MP stated: “Helena Kennedy’s report laid bare the extent of misogyny across our society.

“It made abundantly clear that women are not a minority and that a distinct set of responses was necessary to tackle deeply rooted misogyny. That is why I am incredibly disappointed by today’s news.”

It comes more than two years after the Scottish Government launched a consultation on reforms to tackling misogyny, saying then that five new laws could be created.

Then justice secretary Keith Brown said in March 2023 the move would be an “important step” in challenging the problem.

The Government consultation included proposals to make sending threatening or abusive messages to women and girls which refer to rape, sexual assault or disfigurement a specific crime, and also proposed making stirring up hatred against women or girls a new offence.

That came after Scottish ministers commissioned a report from leading barrister Helena Kennedy KC into misogyny in Scotland.

The report, published in 2022, was “stark in its assessment of the level of misogyny that exists in Scotland” Mr Brown said at the time.

The consultation had also considered if there should be an offence of misogynistic harassment – making it a criminal offence for a person to subject a woman, girl, or groups of women and girls to such behaviour.

However instead of legislation the Scottish Government said it will now bring forward secondary legislation to amend the Hate Crime Act, adding the “protected characteristic of sex” to this so females have “the same protections as other groups”.