Dr Chloe Kennedy contributes to report on misogyny in the criminal justice system as part of Working Group

An independent report by the Working Group on Misogyny and Criminal Justice has been published this week. Edinburgh Law School’s Dr Chloe Kennedy is a member of the Working Group and contributed to the report, which calls for the creation of a new Misogyny and Criminal Justice Scotland Act creating a new statutory aggravation of misogyny.

The report, entitled ‘Misogyny – A Human Rights Issue’, recommends three new criminal offences, to include stirring up hatred against women and girls, public misogynistic harassment, and issuing threats of, or invoking, rape or sexual assault or disfigurement of women and girls, online or offline.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the report as “powerful and compelling” and its recommendations as “bold and far-reaching”. The First Minister went on to say that “As it rightly points out, not all men are misogynist – but all women experience misogyny. It also recognises the power of the law to drive social and cultural change and concedes that for women and girls our law is currently failing.

“The Scottish Government welcomes these recommendations in principle. We will now give full consideration to the detail and respond formally as soon as possible. However, this report matters beyond the detail of the specific recommendations it makes – it matters because it acknowledges and gives powerful voice to the stark realities of everyday life for women.”