SHRC in call to secure women's rights better
A new report delivered to the United Nations by the Scottish Human Rights Commission calls for greater Government action to protect and fulfil women’s rights in Scotland.
The report, presented to the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), makes 27 recommendations, including measures to ensure Brexit has no negative impact on women’s rights; action to mitigate the impact of austerity on women’s economic and social rights; and improvements to law and policy to tackle the high prevalence of violence against women.
It highlights that welfare reforms in the UK have had a disproportionately negative impact on women in Scotland, and calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that the new social security system in Scotland addresses the specific problems experienced by women, mitigating the impacts of welfare reform, particularly on disabled women, black and minority ethnic women and lone mothers who are disproportionately affected.
The report also cites problems with women and girls accessing mental healthcare in Scotland. Young women are more than twice as likely to be depressed as men, a problem which particularly affects women on low incomes, who are also more likely to be disabled or from black and minority ethnic communities. The Commission recommends that the Scottish Government ensures the NHS mental health strategy gives equal access to services for diverse groups of women.
On violence against women, the report states that significant progress has been made in Scotland, an example being the Domestic Abuse Act, but draws attention to the need for concerted and continued action to protect women’s rights to be free from violence and harm, particularly in relation to misogynistic bullying and sexual harassment.
Judith Robertson, chair of the Commission, commented: "Recent campaigns like #metoo have exposed the reality of just how many women experience day-to-day violations of their rights to safety, security and justice.
"At the same time, women continue to be underrepresented in public life, and to bear the brunt of austerity policies, with women from black and minority ethnic communities, disabled women and women on low incomes often experiencing a double or triple whammy of disadvantage.
"While the Scottish Government is to be commended for many of its actions to progress gender equality, our latest report to the UN shows that it must now go further, faster, to ensure that all women in Scotland are able to enjoy all of their rights – economic, social, civil and political – on the same terms as their male counterparts."