Men in positions of power must take the lead in tackling toxic masculinity, which is a root cause of gender-based abuse, Scotland’s first minister has said.
Writing for the Guardian, Humza Yousaf said: “It is simply not good enough to say ‘it is not all men’ and wash our hands of the problem we have collectively created; every single man can, and should, play his role in making change.”
Yousaf said his growing awareness had caused him to reflect on his own behaviour. “Without doubt, in my younger years I will have told a misogynistic joke at the expense of women, or not challenged behaviour that was demeaning to women.”
He said becoming a father to two daughters, as well as witnessing global regression in women’s rights, for example on abortion in the US and education in Afghanistan, had made him determined to use his position to “root out and tackle the toxic masculinity and male self-entitlement that leads to violence, harassment, misogyny and abuse against women”.
Yousaf, who has faced a series of challenges since he replaced Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader in March, including the ongoing investigation into party finances in which Sturgeon was arrested, a toxic confrontation with Westminster over gender recognition reform, a byelection in Rutherglen against a resurgent Scottish Labour and a festering row among MSPs about their governing alliance with the Scottish Greens, said he wanted Scotland to show “global leadership”.
He has pledged to continue the work of the Barack Obama-inspired National Council for Women and Girls set up by his predecessor and appointed a gender-balanced cabinet as Sturgeon did.
“There is a great opportunity for all men in positions of influence to demonstrate real leadership on this hugely important issue,” he said. “Whether in politics, in the office, on the work site, in school, the pub or our own living rooms, we can all do more as men to challenge problematic behaviour among our friends, colleagues and family members.”
He said “finger wagging is not the answer”, insisting it was crucial to understand why thousands of young men and boys in Scotland were attracted to celebrity misogynists such as Andrew Tate.
“As men, we must listen, we must learn but we also must demonstrate what a positive male identity looks like to our young boys and to other men,” Yousaf said.