Abstract
This chapter discusses online violence against women (OVAW) and its omission from Scots Law. It examines the need for distinction from offline forms of violence against women (VAW) before highlighting the particularly harmful impacts of OVAW. Through discussions of harm, terminology and typologies, OVAW is presented as a contemporary challenge for Scots Law. The discussion outlines and challenges the piecemeal legislative developments and isolated incidences of case law, which demonstrate that OVAW remains unaddressed in Scotland. The argument here engages with the online application of the proposed stand-alone misogynistic harassment offence and considers the limitations of Scottish law-making competence against a backdrop of UK-wide reforms to communications offences. The ‘landmark’ Online Safety Bill is critiqued, leading to the conclusion that while the Scottish and the UK Governments have both had ample opportunities to legislatively address OVAW, neither has done so.
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Notes
- 1.
Laville (2016).
- 2.
Amnesty International (2018).
- 3.
Fawcett Society (2020).
- 4.
Verdegem (2021).
- 5.
Scottish Government (2021, p. 9).
- 6.
Ibid., p. 10.
- 7.
Scotland Act 1998, s. 29(4). The UK Government has reserved powers in this area: see Barker and Jurasz (2019a, p. 41).
- 8.
We draw a distinction between digital forms of violence—taken here to mean those forms committed through the use of technology, for example, the sending of abuse text messages—and online forms of violence, for example, the sending or posting of messages via social media and Internet-based platforms. While digital forms of violence can be included in OVAW, OVAW specifically refers to the Internet dimension of forms of VAW. Digital violence may already be captured through coercive control offences, whereas OVAW may not.
- 9.
Barker and Jurasz (2021e, p. 253).
- 10.
United Nations Human Rights Council (2018, para. 14).
- 11.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (2021).
- 12.
Ibid.; Barker and Jurasz (2022, forthcoming).
- 13.
UN Women and APPG for UN Women (2021, p. 15).
- 14.
Amnesty International (2017, p. 3).
- 15.
Ibid.
- 16.
The Cybersmile Foundation (2017, p. 5).
- 17.
Plan International (2020).
- 18.
Girlguiding (2021, p. 5).
- 19.
Ibid., p. 19.
- 20.
Ibid.
- 21.
Ibid.
- 22.
Girlguiding Scotland (2018, p. 8).
- 23.
Ibid., p. 13.
- 24.
Ibid.
- 25.
- 26.
Barker and Jurasz (2019a, p. 24).
- 27.
Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, s. 2(3)(b) (asp 5).
- 28.
Ibid., s. 2(3)(c).
- 29.
Ibid., s. 2(3)(d).
- 30.
Barker and Jurasz (2021e, p. 254).
- 31.
Barker and Jurasz (2021d, p. 795).
- 32.
Southern and Harmer (2019, p. 192).
- 33.
Barker and Jurasz (2021d, p. 787).
- 34.
- 35.
Fox et al. (2015, p. 436).
- 36.
Lewis et al. (2019, p. 130).
- 37.
Barker and Jurasz (2019a, p. 27).
- 38.
Jane (2017, p. 4).
- 39.
Barker and Jurasz (2019a, p. 24).
- 40.
Barker and Jurasz (2020a).
- 41.
United Nations Human Rights Council (2018, p. 5).
- 42.
Barker and Jurasz (2021b, p. 58).
- 43.
Barker and Jurasz (2020c, p. 55).
- 44.
Barker and Jurasz (2022, forthcoming).
- 45.
Barker and Jurasz (2019a, p. xiv).
- 46.
Rowbottom (2012, p. 371).
- 47.
Alinak v. Turkey App no. 40287/98 (ECtHR, 29 March 2005); Klein v. Slovakia (2010) 50 E.H.R.R. 15.
- 48.
Barker and Jurasz (2021a).
- 49.
- 50.
McGlynn and Rackley (2017).
- 51.
Barker and Jurasz (2019a, p. xiv).
- 52.
Council of Europe (2016).
- 53.
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (2017).
- 54.
Council of Europe (n.d.: https://www.coe.int/en/web/cyberviolence/cyberviolence-against-women).
- 55.
Council of Europe (2021, p. 15).
- 56.
Ibid.
- 57.
Barker and Jurasz (2020c, pp. 54–55).
- 58.
Council of Europe (2021).
- 59.
Ibid., p. 19.
- 60.
Council of Europe (n.d.: https://www.coe.int/en/web/cyberviolence/cyberviolence-against-women).
- 61.
Harvard and Lefevre (2020, pp. 224–225).
- 62.
Ibid.
- 63.
Women’s Aid (2014).
- 64.
Barker and Jurasz (2021e, p. 256).
- 65.
Barker and Jurasz (2020b).
- 66.
Khoo (2021).
- 67.
HC Deb. 7 March 2018, vol. 637, col. 138WH (available at https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-03-07/debates/92236C51-2340-4D97-92A7-4955B24C2D74/MisogynyAsAHateCrime).
- 68.
HC Deb. 7 March 2018, vol. 637, col. 139WH (available at https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-03-07/debates/92236C51-2340-4D97-92A7-4955B24C2D74/MisogynyAsAHateCrime).
- 69.
Ward (2019).
- 70.
McLaughlin (2020).
- 71.
Taylor (2019).
- 72.
Barker and Jurasz (2020b).
- 73.
Barker and Jurasz (2021b, p. 54).
- 74.
Phillips (2017, p. 217).
- 75.
Barker and Jurasz (2021e, p. 256).
- 76.
Ibid.
- 77.
Ibid., p. 257.
- 78.
Ibid., p. 256.
- 79.
R v. Nimmo and Sorley (2014) (Westminster Magistrates’ Court, 24 January 2014). (Sentencing Comments: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/JCO/Documents/Judgments/r-v-nimmo-and-sorley.pdf). It should be noted that this is a case from England and Wales, rather than from Scotland, but the remarks of Judge Riddle relating to harm and impact are relevant to the discussion here.
- 80.
Allegretti (2016).
- 81.
Quinn (2015, at 19:05).
- 82.
Gardiner et al. (2016).
- 83.
Barker and Jurasz (2022, forthcoming).
- 84.
Barker and Jurasz (2019a, p. xiv).
- 85.
UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 (asp 4).
- 86.
Scottish Government and COSLA (2018).
- 87.
Ibid., p. 12.
- 88.
Ibid., p. 16.
- 89.
Scottish Government and COSLA (2020).
- 90.
Hills (2001, p. 30).
- 91.
Green (2018).
- 92.
Engender (2019, p. 32).
- 93.
Scottish Government (2018a).
- 94.
Ibid., p. 82.
- 95.
Barker and Jurasz (2020c, p. 55).
- 96.
Law Commission (2018, p. 1).
- 97.
Scottish Government (2018a, para. 6.53).
- 98.
Ibid., p. 82 at paras. 6.51–6.52.
- 99.
Scottish Government (2018b, pp. 43 and 46).
- 100.
Communications Select Committee (2014, para. 32).
- 101.
Scottish Government (2018b, p. 43).
- 102.
Barker and Jurasz (2021d, p. 786).
- 103.
Meeting of the Scottish Parliament, 28 January 2016, Official Report, col. 63.
- 104.
Marshall (2015).
- 105.
Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016, s. 2(7)(b) (asp 22).
- 106.
Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, s. 33(9)(a).
- 107.
Ross (2015, p. 9).
- 108.
Safer Scotland (n.d.: https://notyourstoshare.scot/).
- 109.
Barker and Jurasz (2021e, p. 250).
- 110.
Rooney v. Brown [2013] HCJAC 57.
- 111.
[2014] HCJAC 87.
- 112.
R v. Murphy [2015] HJAC 47.
- 113.
Ibid. [16].
- 114.
McHugh v. Harvie [2015] HCJAC 86.
- 115.
[2017] SAC (Crim) 17.
- 116.
Rodgerson v. Dunn [2016] HJAC 12.
- 117.
Ibid.
- 118.
Brown v. Procurator Fiscal, Ayr [2016] SAC (Crim) 32 (a.k.a. Brown v. MacPherson).
- 119.
DPP v. Collins (2006) 4 All ER 602.
- 120.
Brown (n. 121) [9]; Collins (n. 122) [8] (Lord Bingham).
- 121.
[2017] HJAC 22.
- 122.
- 123.
Barker and Jurasz (2019a, p. 74).
- 124.
Clive et al. (2003, p. 25: see s. 7(2)(b)).
- 125.
Scottish Government (2019, p. 39).
- 126.
Communications Select Committee (2014, para. 32).
- 127.
Barker and Jurasz (2021a, p. 532).
- 128.
Martin (2017).
- 129.
Barker and Jurasz (2021a, p. 532).
- 130.
HM Government (2019).
- 131.
Barker and Jurasz (2021a, p. 534).
- 132.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2021).
- 133.
Barker and Jurasz (2021f, para. 1.1).
- 134.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Home Office (2022).
- 135.
Ibid.
- 136.
- 137.
Joint Committee on the Draft Online Safety Bill (2021, para. 52).
- 138.
- 139.
- 140.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Home Office (2022).
- 141.
Ibid.
- 142.
Ibid.
- 143.
Barker and Jurasz (2019b, p. 16).
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Barker, K., Jurasz, O. (2022). Online Violence: A Blanket of Digital Sexism?. In: Violence Against Women, Hate and Law. Palgrave Hate Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99375-7_6
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