Gender: policy context

General policies in relation to gender equality and health

The Equality Act 2010 replaces all previous sex equality legislation. The Equality Act requires public organisations to carry out assessments of the equality impact of their new or changed policies.

Gender-based violence policy

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious public health problem. It includes, but is not limited to, “domestic abuse, rape & sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse, stalking and harrassment, commercial sexual exploitation and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage or so-called ‘honour' based violence” (NHS Health Scotland Gender Based Violence pages).  

GBV is predominantly, but not exclusively, perpetrated by men towards women. It is both a cause and consequence of gender inequality (Lombard 2015 (0.2 MB)). As such the United Nations defines it as "violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman, or violence that affects women disproportionately. It includes acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty" (General Recommendation No.19, (1992) of The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women).

Since 2008 there has been a national GBV programme within NHS Scotland which is designed to improve the healthcare identification and management of GBV (Scottish Government CEL 41 (2008): Gender-based violence action plan). A cornerstone of the programme is the implementation of routine enquiry of abuse in key settings (i.e. maternity, substance misuse, health visiting, sexual health and mental health services).

The Scottish Government’s Equally Safe strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls was originally launched in 2014 and was updated in 2016. It was developed in partnership with local authorities, Police Scotland, NHS Health Scotland and third sector organisations that support women who have experienced violence. The National Action Plan to Prevent and Eradicate FGM sets out an agreed range of actions to be taken forward by Scottish Government and its partners.

The NHS Scotland GBV webpages provide a useful overview of what GBV is and the policies aimed at tackling it. 

Gender equality policy

The gender equality section of the Scottish Government's website sets out a number of actions that are currently being pursued with the goal of achieving gender equality. These include provisions to: make the workplace fairer for women; provide funding to organisations who promote gender equality; increase access to childcare; engage with men to better understand the discrimination they face, particularly at work; and to prevent violence against women and girls.