Equally Safe is Scotland’s ambitious strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls.
The aim of Equally Safe is to foster collaborative working between partners across society to achieve a Scotland in which women and girls are safe to thrive, and fulfil their potential, free from violence and abuse.
Equally Safe was originally developed by the Scottish Government and COSLA in association with a wide range of partners from public and third sector organisations and it was first published in June 2014, with an updated version published in March 2016.
Equally Safe identifies four strategic priorities which local Gender Based Violence Partnerships are expected to work towards. These priorities are that:
- Scottish society embraces equality and mutual respect, and rejects all forms of violence against women and girls
- Women and girls thrive as equal citizens: socially, culturally, economically and politically
- Interventions are early and effective, preventing violence and maximising the safety and wellbeing of women, children and young people
- Men desist from all forms of violence against women and girls, and perpetrators of such violence receive a robust and effective response
Stirling’s Gender Based Violence (GBV) Partnership is the multi‐agency vehicle for the delivery of these priorities at a local level. Stirling’s GBV Partnership meets quarterly to discuss progress against the local action plan.
To ensure that Stirling’s Gender Based Violence Partnership is working strategically towards the national strategy, actions have been identified by the Partnership which led to the partnership’s local strategy and action plan. The complex nature of Gender Based Violence means that it cannot be addressed by any one agency alone. And so we understand as a partnership that to be effective, we need to have a multiagency approach across all of our work, and link closely to other Public Protection Partnerships.