John Swinney told delays to protect women from abusers have proved 'fatal'

At First Minister's Questions in Holyrood, he was also urged to roll back changes made to bail legislation, with opposition leaders alleging the alterations had led directly to the killing of two women.

Three opposition party leaders raised the issue of violence against women with the First Minister - just days after he pledged to make tackling it a personal mission for him and his government.

Acting Scottish Labour leader Dame Jackie Baillie raised the murder of Stacy Hunter who was killed by her estranged husband in July after he was released on bail.

She backed Ms Hunter's family's call for GPS tracking for violent offenders to be implemented.

“Women are being failed even after abusers are known to the justice system," she said.

"We all remember the tragic killing of Claire Inglis in 2021, murdered after a dangerous boyfriend was bailed to her address. And this summer we were all horrified by the murder of Stacy Hunter, killed by a former partner who had been bailed and told to stay away from her.

“Stacy’s family has demanded that the SNP Government catch up with other countries and roll out GPS tracking of violent offenders on bail, but the Justice Secretary has been unable to say when this will be in place.”

She added: "The epidemic of violence against women and girls in Scotland demands action and we cannot afford any more delays.

"A year after the Women's Rights Network published data on sexual assaults in hospitals they report no progress. This parliament legislated to create domestic abuse protection orders to give the police more powers to protect victims, five years on they're not in place.

"In 2023 the changes to bail laws removed vital protections for domestic abiuse victims and GPS tracking is still not here. And the SNP is failing to exempt rapists and sex offenders from its latest plans to release prisoners early release plans.

"I don't doubt for a moment the good intentions of John Swinney and his government, I believe he's genuinely sincere, but their choices and delays have actually been fatal."

Mr Swinney rejected that characterisation of the government's work, and said every aspect of the state will be deployed to “root out” violence against women and girls.

He said the Scottish Government would seek to make progress on a previously scrapped misogyny Bill and to launch a multi-year public health campaign to challenge misogynistic attitudes in boys and young men, and that pilot work is under way to eventually roll out GPS tracking of criminals on bail.

"The government of which I've been proud to be a part has taken very significant legislative steps to tackle domestic violence in our country. I don't think I could be more open about the sense of shock I've felt about what we've experienced over the summer at the amount of violence against women and girls.

“For all the involvement I’ve had in areas of policy in the past, I am determined to make sure this has got the strongest possible and emphatic leadership from the First Minister. I am a male First Minister, at the heart of all of this is the behaviour of men and boys, and there has to be a cultural effort.

“As one dimension of it, the government’s communication is important. These exchanges are important as well, because it gives me an opportunity to say to Parliament – and to the country – that male violence against women is absolutely and completely unacceptable, and every aspect of the state is going to be deployed to root it out.”

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay also criticised the Scottish Government’s approach to tackling violence against women and girls, asking Mr Swinney to roll back on bail laws that were changed in 2023.

The Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 made holding people in jail before trial a last resort.

Mr Findlay said: “It is welcome that John Swinney wants to personally intervene on escalating violence against women and girls in Scotland, but his actions will speak louder than words.

“It was the SNP Government who put women and girls at risk with their decision to remove tough safeguards as part of their changes to bail laws three years ago.

“They pressed ahead despite being warned not to by the police and victims organisations. Their weak bail laws have allowed dangerous scumbags to be free to kill victims like Stacy Hunter and Samantha Lee in recent months, despite having previously attacked them.

“These legal safeguards must be reinstated by Swinney immediately otherwise the safety of more women will be put at risk.”

Mr Swinney said the new bail test allowed "the needs and perspectives of victims to be taken into account."

He added@ "I don't decide who gets bail or put on remand, that's up to the independent judiciary. Of course I bitterly regrety the loss of any women's life as a result of the violence pepretrated by men, I will do everything I can, including giving personal leadership, to address this issue."

And Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said he attended the funeral of his constituent Vikki Solomon, who was murdered in July by her ex partner.

He said: “In our last exchange before recess, I asked the First Minister about protecting women and girls from male violence. In the following month, three Scottish women died at the hands of men. I went to the funeral of one of them.

“Vikki Solomon was 44. She was a mum. A passionate advocate for the beauty industry. She was known to several of us here in this chamber.

“She called the police asking for help, following an assault by the man who, hours later, would go on to kill her. The police did not attend.

“Stacy Hunter was murdered, by an ex-partner, out on bail, who should have been nowhere near her. Can the First Minister see that there is a pattern here of women being let down horrifically by the system with fatal consequences.

"Will this government act with urgency before more women die at the hands of men?”

Mr Swinney said: "Yes we will.

But there is also another aspect which is a serious threat to our society and particularly to women and girls and it's the malevolence of so much of the online content flooding in to the data feeds of men and boys, so I will do everything I can, and I will work with the UK government on the issues of controlling that epidemic of inappropriate material.

"Because the social media organisations who have unleashed this on our society are fuelling so much of what's going on. If this parliament can do one thing in unity it is to make clear to social media firms in this country and across the globe they have a respobnsibilty to clean up their act because they are jeopardising the lives of women and girls in this country."