The Scottish Government is working to reduce and, ultimately, remove the barriers to equality faced by women and men in Scotland. These barriers arise in a range of social and economic spheres.

Our Gender Equality team works across the Scottish Government to:

• promote equality of opportunity between women and men
• support colleagues in understanding, in all their diversity, the different needs of women and men.

It all helps towards achieving the gender equality objectives we set out as a government.

Gender-based violence

The Scottish Government defines gender-based violence as follows:

“Gender-based violence is a function of gender inequality, and an abuse of male power and privilege. It takes the form of actions that result in physical, sexual and psychological harm or suffering to women and children, or affront to their human dignity, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”

This is not to suggest that all men are violent – the majority of men are not. Nor is it to deny that women also use violence, or that men use violence against men, including male partners.