STREET harassment of women and girls should be brought into the remit of the misogyny working group, SNP members agreed.
The Misogyny and Criminal Justice in Scotland Working Group, headed by Baroness Helena Kennedy, is currently exploring whether or not misogyny should be considered a hate crime under Scots law.
The group is due to report in February 2022, with SNP members calling on the group to look specifically at street harassment as part of their ongoing work.
Proposing the motion, Sally Donald told of the “hundreds if not thousands” of examples of street harassment she has faced in Edinburgh, adding that it is “no exaggeration to say that it happens relentlessly”.
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She told delegates how she fears men following her home in the dark, carries keys between her fingers for protection, the way women purposefully cover up whilst knowing it doesn't make a difference, and that this is a “daily occurrence” for 97% of women in the UK.
Donald said: “Women have been taught to do all we can to prevent violence against us, but the time for blaming us is over.
“I have been harassed in every setting you can think of; at work, at the gym, on public transport in clubs, bars, and most regularly on the streets, in every season, in every variation of outfit since I was in primary school.
“I carry a rape alarm. I hold my keys in my hand. I have my location sharing on at all times with my friends, and we text each other after every night out to make sure that each other has gotten home safe.
Donald told delegates of her personal experience of street harassment in Edinburgh
“We're doing everything we can as women and it's absolutely exhausting. All we're asking is that we can go about our daily lives without fear of harassment, and I don't think that's too much to ask.”
MP Hannah Bardell supported the motion and told of being flashed in a local park at 15, touched inappropriately by a driving instructor at 17, being followed off the bus by a man in London when she was 20, and suffering misogynistic and homophobic abuse when holding hands with her girlfriend.
She said: “It's crucial to involve men in the conversation and in the action because it affects them too. Toxic masculinity creates a hostile environment for men and boys, as well as women and girls.
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“And it's no coincidence that the rate of male suicide and murder of men on our streets is so high the sooner we take action, the sooner we will live in a society that respects and cherishes all of our citizens and their rights to live freely and without fear of running at night or just walking home.”
MSP Paul McLennan also supported the motion and called on men to understand that while they feel safe in the streets at night, women do not, and they are part of the solution.
He said: “This is up to us men to change this. This isn't a women's issue. This is a men's issue. We need to change the behaviour.”
The resolution passed overwhelmingly with 398 votes for and two against.
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