Equally Safe Ministerial Group Minutes: November 2025

Attendees and apologies

Attendees and Apologies

Members

• Minister for Equalities, Kaukab Stewart MSP, (Chair)
• Minister for Social Care and Wellbeing, Tom Arthur MSP
• Minister for Victims and Community Safety, Siobhian Brown MSP 
• Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, Natalie Don-Innes MSP (Attended online)
• Minister for Higher and Further Education, Ben Macpherson MSP   
• Director of Population Health, Richard Foggo (Attending on behalf of Ms Minto and Ms Todd)
• Jobs and Wellbeing Economy Director, Aiden Grieswood (Attending on behalf of Mr Lochhead)
• Permanent Secretary, Joe Griffin                          
• Head of Homelessness Unit, Janine Kellet (Attending on behalf of Ms McAllan)​​​​​​

Other Attendees

Equally Safe Ministerial Group Secretariat 

• Johanna Davidson-Scott, VAWG Equalities Team
• Rhona Gowans VAWG Equalities Team
• Nel Whiting, VAWG Equalities Team

Apologies

• Minister for Business and Employment, Richard Lochhead MSP
• Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Mairi McAllan MSP            
• Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, Jenni Minto MSP              
• Minister for Drugs and Alcohol, and Sport, Maree Todd MSP   

Items and actions

Item 1 - Welcome

The Minister for Equalities welcomed and thanked Ministers and officials for attending the fourth meeting of the Equally Safe Ministerial Group (ESMG). The Minister also welcomed and thanked the Permanent Secretary for his attendance, before noting apologies and membership changes since the previous meeting.

Item 2 – Minutes and Actions from Previous Meeting

An overview of all actions from the last meeting were reviewed. The Minister for Equalities confirmed that all five actions from the previous meeting had either been progressed or completed. These were:

Action 1 - All previous meeting notes have now been published and will be highlighted to the Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board.

Action 2 - The recommendations from the Istanbul Convention GREVIO Baseline Evaluation report have now been aligned with Ministerial portfolios.

Action 3 - There is ongoing engagement with the Scottish Trade Union Congress, with officials exploring how we can work with them to ensure their support of the delivery of Equally Safe.

Action 4 – A further update from the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland was shared with ESMG members as requested. This outlines the progress in relation to deliverable six in the Equally Safe Delivery Plan.

Action 5 – The present Equally Safe Ministerial Group meeting had been scheduled to take place ahead of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, in line with the agreed action.

The group agreed that the minutes from the May 2025 meeting accuratly reflected discussions at that meeting. 

ACTION 1: Officials to upload the March minutes to the SG webpages.

Item 3 – Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board Update

To support continued connectivity between two of the key elements of the Equally Safe governance structure, the Minister for Equalities provided a brief update on the most recent Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board meeting, held in September 2025.

Ms Stewart outlined that the Board had considered a range of strategic issues relevant to the delivery of Equally Safe. This included emerging challenges, such as the harmful weaponisation of VAWG messaging within anti-refugee and anti-migrant rhetoric. The board also discussed progress in key areas, including the development of a definition of honour-based abuse, and work on Scotland’s forthcoming Gender Equality Strategy.

Item 4 - Istanbul Baseline Evaluation GREVIO Report Update

The Minister for Equalities provided a brief update on the GREVIO baseline evaluation report and the Scottish Government’s response, which were both published in June 2025. Ms Stewart also noted that the Scottish Government response and the development of an action plan, are both commitments within the Equally Safe Delivery Plan.

The ESMG discussed that the report’s recommendations are wide-ranging and cross-cutting, with responsibilities sitting across multiple portfolios. The group reflected on the importance of coordinated working and shared learning in responding to the recommendations. The group also discussed the value of the mapping existing activity and identifying gaps.

Officials noted that work is underway to support this process, including the development of an action plan. In order to support wider engagement and work toward the plan’s development, a national event will take place in partnership with COSLA, as part of the 2025 16 Days of Activism campaign. This event will take a thematic approach to exploring the GREVIO recommendations and Ministers will be informed of how this work progresses.

The Permanent Secretary acknowledged the scale of the recommendations and emphasised the importance of focusing on areas where meaningful progress can be made.

ACTION 2: Officials to keep Ministers updated on the development of the GREVIO  action plan, following the 16 Days of Activism national event.

Item 5 – 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence 2025 Campaign

The Minister for Equalities outlined planned activity for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign 2025, highlighting both the national theme - “All Together to Prevent and End Violence Against Women and Girls in Scotland” - and the global theme -“UNITE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls.”

The Minister encouraged her colleagues to support campaign efforts across portfolios, reinforcing that preventing and responding to violence against women and girls is a shared responsibility across government. There was interest in engaging with campaign activity and showing support through comms activity.

The group explored opportunities to raise awareness of the campaign, including a potential letter to Ministerial Colleagues. The Minister for Higher and Further Education agreed to consider playing a role in the proposed parliamentary debate. The Permanent Secretary proposed using internal governance channels to elevate the campaign, which may also include activity by the Permanent Secretary.

The Minister for Victims and Community Safety acknowledged the global theme, underscoring the rise in technology-facilitated abuse and the need for collective action. The Minister also shared updates on ongoing work around online safety, including the Online Safety Taskforce and engagement with the UK Government.

ACTION 3:  Officials to liaise with the Minister for Victims and Community Safety as part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign.

ACTION 4: Officials to follow up with the Permanent Secretary to support his visibility and engagement with the 16 Days campaign.

ACTION 5: The Minister for Equalities to issue a letter Ministerial colleagues to promote awareness and engagement with the 16 Days campaign.

Item 6 - Equally Safe Delivery Plan Progress Update

The Minister for Equalities introduced the second Equally Safe Delivery Plan bi-annual progress report, covering the period March 2025 to September 2025. The  group primarily  focused on actions assessed as amber or red, while recognising the importance of highlighting green successes.

The group welcomed the opportunity to review progress and discuss any challenges that may require collaborative attention. The Minister for Victims and Community Safety provided an update on key developments, including the successful launch of the sextortion campaign and associated educational resources. This was noted as a prime example of joint financing and partnership working with funds provided by the equality and justice portfolios as well as the police. Ms Brown also outlined ongoing work to improve pathways for reporting spiking, including a consistent national approach between health services and Police Scotland, updates to NHS systems, and development of public-facing resources.

The group also considered areas where continued attention would be needed to help maintain momentum. The Director of Population Health committed to supporting progress on strengthening trauma-informed approaches in relation to action 8.3, and embedding VAWG within public protection frameworks, in relation to action 10.6, He also committed to  helping to identify a key policy contact for VAWG work in the health directorate and ensuring resilience for delivery.

Other areas discussed included the education-related actions and multi-agency arrangements, and whether further follow up or discussions could be required in relation to those actions. Members and deputies also reflected on future opportunities to enhance support and engagement, building on commitments to prevention and protection. This included discussion of upcoming workstreams aimed at strengthening support for those most affected and continuing to challenge harmful attitudes.

The discussion reinforced the importance of sustained collaboration across portfolios and with external partners to deliver on the ambitions of Equally Safe.

ACTION 6: Director of Population Health to support progress by helping to identify a health contact for VAWG and trauma-informed work.

ACTION 7: Future meetings reviewing Equally Safe Delivery Plan progress reports will prioritise discussion of actions assessed as amber or red.

Item 7 – Reflections from the Permanent Secretary

The Permanent Secretary shared observations on the discussion and emphasised the importance of maintaining momentum and visibility for Equally Safe priorities. Key points included the value of connecting delivery to real-world impact, strengthening feedback loops, and ensuring clarity on how progress is measured. He also noted the benefit of continued engagement with this group and expressed willingness to remain involved in supporting delivery.

Item 8 – AOB and Close

The Minister for Equalities thanked attendees for their contributions throughout the meeting. She also noted the importance of continued collaboration to deliver on the ambitions of Equally Safe and closed the meeting.

Actions

• Officials to upload the March minutes to the SG webpages.
• Officials to keep Ministers updated on the development of the GREVIO  action plan, following the 16 Days of Activism national event.
• Officials to liaise with the Minister for Victims and Community Safety as part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign.
• Officials to follow up with the Permanent Secretary to support his visibility and engagement with the 16 Days campaign.
• The Minister for Equalities to issue a letter Ministerial colleagues to promote awareness and engagement with the 16 Days campaign.
• Director of Population Health to support progress by helping to identify a health contact for trauma-informed work.
• Future meetings reviewing Equally Safe Delivery Plan progress reports will prioritise discussion of actions assessed as amber or red.