International Women's Day

On International Women's Day, first honoured over a century ago, we should commend and celebrate all those women who fought to shatter the glass ceiling and have paved the way for women’s equality.

International Women’s Day should be a celebration, but today we think also of the brave women and girls in Ukraine forced to make difficult decisions, to fight or flee, to save their families and homes, their freedoms and way of life.

We should also remember and support the women and girls in Afghanistan facing a new reality, banned from things that not long ago was part of everyday life.

Closer to home, more needs to be done for Scotland’s women and girls to prevent gender-based violence and domestic abuse. This is just some of what the Scottish and UK governments should be doing.

A commission on violence against women and girls

Up and down this country, women and girls suffer violence at the hands of men, violence which is underpinned by everyday sexist and misogynistic attitudes. We all have a duty to call this out.   

Following Sarah Everard’s murder in 2021, we have repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to create a commission to look at all aspects of preventing men’s violence against women and girls. Since then, the government has made little progress.

Our party's deputy leader, Wendy Chamberlain MP, will be leading a policy commission on men’s violence. As the only former female police officer in the House of Commons, Wendy is well placed to lead this work within our party and to make recommendations for how we can improve policy.

Abortion buffer zones

Abortion is a life-changing decision for women. It is also a life-saving treatment for women. And we are unequivocal about this: it is a fundamental human right and a basic healthcare need.

In Scotland, 70% of reproductive-age women live in a health board which has been targeted by anti-choice protesters over five years. In 2019, more than 100,000 women faced harassment about their decision when they attended a medical appointment.

We are calling on the Scottish government to implement buffer zones within 150 meters of abortion clinics and hospitals, preventing protesters from harassing female patients.

Protecting women's safety online

Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine has tabled a bill in the Commons which would require social media companies to regularly report on the steps they are taking to address online abuse against women, girls and other minorities.

One in three British women have experienced some form of online abuse, according to women’s charity Refuge. To make matters worse, social media companies are too often missing the mark when it comes to protecting women and girls. One recent study showed that Instagram failed to act on 90 percent of abuse sent to women.

Read more about Christine Jardine's bill here.

Far north maternity services

Maternity services in Caithness also show where action from the Scottish Government could improve the lives of women and girls.

There used to be a full consultant-led maternity unit in Wick, but it was downgraded a few years ago. Now Far North mums are having to make 200+ mile round trip to give birth in Inverness. Imagine taking that type of journey in a snowstorm. It’s a terrible accident waiting to happen.

Lib Dem MP Jamie Stone and Cllr Ron Gunn have been working tirelessly to bring the plight of expectant mothers in Caithness to light.

The Scottish Government must conduct a full review of maternity and gynaecology services in the Far North, with a view to reducing long journeys for expectant mothers.