The fight for women's equality needs action from everyone says Rhoda Grant MSP
Recently, the Scottish Parliament re-affirmed its commitment to eradicating violence against women and girls throughout Scotland.
With the 16 Days of Action on Violence Against Women running until 10 December, there is a great opportunity to further the conversation on ending gender inequality.
A few weeks ago Scottish Labour launched a consultation paper called Achieving Women’s Equality, where we not only recounted the obstacles women face in the world, but also proposed a call to action.
It is evident that women are at a disadvantage in the world today: from employment numbers to the overall societal perceptions of women, instances of inequality and lack of opportunity are prevalent.
Women constantly struggle to achieve an equal footing to men, needing to do more and be more, and for reasons rooted only in prejudice and stereotypes. The preconceived notions which plague the minds of our society must not just change, but become eliminated completely. We need to aspire to build a culture of equality.
Preventing violence against women is an essential step to bettering the lives of women and girls
Rhoda Grant MSP
With this paper, Scottish Labour hopes to create an opportunity to further the conversation about tackling gender inequality, and gain insights from experts and knowledgeable people throughout Scotland. However, ending gender inequality is the only path on the road to truly constructing a society where women can live equally to men.
Preventing violence against women is an essential step to bettering the lives of women and girls. Countless instances of domestic abuse and sexual assault happen to women not just each year, but every day. For many women, they live a life in a constant state of fear.
How can a woman possibly obtain a life equal to a man, when her very state of being is continually at risk?
The 16 Days of Action on Violence Against Women hopes to take a chance to shift the focus onto creating a safe environment for the women and girls of our population.
Those suffering from domestic and sexual abuse are victims that we need to ensure have access to support. Women must know that we will not sit by idly and let such horrible things happen; we will support them, and advocate for them, and work to make a society where such atrocities do not occur.
In this manner, we can not only support women, but empower them, through providing them the confidence that they live in a world which aims for equality.
However it is also important not to forget about the other half of this issue: men. We need to educate the men in our society on the importance of gender equality.
Feminism is not just a movement for women. In fact, the very meaning of the word is for gender inequality; thus feminism aims to help men as well.
All men should aspire to be feminists. There are very few men who lack a connection to a woman; be it a mother, sister, daughter, partner, or friend. I would hope that men desire their daughters, sisters, partners, and whoever else, to have the same opportunities that they do in life.
In the spirit of the 16 Days of Action on Violence Against Women, we hope to take advantage of the opportunity to further the conversation about preventing violence against women. The consultation paper discusses not just on how to achieve women’s equality, but also about how violence against women acts as a barrier to it. It is important to break down these obstacles if we are to truly build a world of equal opportunity.
This consultation paper was not just meant for the Scottish Labour Party. We would like the opinions of everyone, from experts to young people, in order to further explore methods on how to end violence against women and create policy which will aid this endeavour.
Only when everyone can mobilise behind our cause and agree to work together, can Scotland truly achieve a world without violence against women and therefore also a world of women’s equality.
Rhoda Grant is a Labour MSP, representing the Highlands and Islands.
