Education will play a “fundamental” role in changing the culture around misogyny in Scotland, the First Minister has said.
John Swinney said the issue is of “seismic significance” and he wants to make sure every school in Scotland is educating young people about the dangers and risks of misogyny.
He also gave a “cast-iron personal commitment” to lead Scottish Government efforts to tackle the issue of violence against women and girls.
Speaking about the issue on BBC Radio Scotland’s Mornings programme on Wednesday, he said the education system would be a primary focus for trying to change attitudes.
He said: “I think in an educational setting, we’ve got to be much more active in educating about the unacceptability of misogyny and the dangers of misogyny, of where it all potentially leads, because we can see where it leads within our society.
“I think education is fundamental to the steps we have to take to change the culture within Scottish society.
“We have been working in Government to develop what I would call preventative interventions. These are education programmes and awareness campaigns which are all going to be focused on trying to change the culture of Scottish society.
“Our education system is going to be a primary focus for that to make sure that boys are educated and supported to understand the implications of some of that.
“What one might think is sort of casual behaviour, but it has consequences. It all has consequences.”
Mr Swinney said the issue is of such “seismic significance” for Scotland that there needs to be alignment between the Government and local authority partners.
He said: “I’m going to make sure that every school in the country is educating young boys about the dangers and risks of misogyny, and young girls so that young girls are equipped with resilience.”
During the programme, Mr Swinney also spoke to the family of murdered mother Stacy Mair, whose maiden name was Hunter.
If the bail system doesn't get tightened up or isn't looked at, then we don't want this to be used as a tool to release more dangerous people because they'll be tagged
She was found dead at a cottage in Houston, Renfrewshire, on July 27. Police treated her death as murder.
Her estranged husband Jim Mair, 43, was also found dead at the cottage, with his death being treated as unexplained.
He had appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court on July 6 charged with assaulting the 35-year-old mother and had been granted bail weeks before her death.
Sean Hunter, Stacy’s brother, and their mother Ann have supported calls for a dedicated GPS electronic monitoring scheme for domestic abuse perpetrators who are assessed as posing a significant risk to a partner or former partner.
Mr Swinney announced in Parliament earlier this month that before recess in October, regulations will be lodged to enable the piloting of GPS monitoring for individuals on bail, including those suspected of domestic abuse.
Mr Hunter welcomed news about the GPS tracking but raised concerns about whether the bail system is tight enough.
He said: “The concern is how will that be used in terms of, if the bail system doesn’t get tightened up or isn’t looked at, then we don’t want this to be used as a tool to release more dangerous people because they’ll be tagged.”
Mr Swinney said he believes Scotland has a “very strong bail test” which takes into account the perspective of victims and the issue of public safety.
However he said “tragically, there are cases where the judgment is wrong”, as in the case of Ms Hunter.
He said the GPS pilot will start next month in the Tayside and Fife areas and if the Scottish Government is confident in the system, he hopes to see the initiative rolled out as widely and as quickly as possible.