When a confidential survey revealed that hundreds of people working in the Scottish Parliament – mostly women – had experienced
sexual harassment or sexist attitudes, a signal went out to all men to look at their own behaviour.
From Hollywood to Holyrood, 2017 was the year powerful and predatory men in the workplace were being found out, as a chorus of #MeToo voices called time on sexism and the silencing of women.
Just over a week ago, we learned that Alex Salmond has been at the centre of a Scottish Government investigation for months, after complaints were received that he sexually assaulted two women during his time as First Minister.
In response, he insisted that he did not harass anyone and that he is not guilty of criminality. The campaign to clear his name and to take the Scottish Government to court over their procedures is well under way.
Salmond, like anyone else, has every right to defend himself and be afforded a fair opportunity to do so. The women at the centre of these complaints also have the right to have their allegations taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.
However, the way he has set about responding to the allegations has been anything but fair to the women involved.
The spectacle of our former first minister using his “celebrity” to crowdfund the cost of his legal battle against the Scottish Government he once led is a cheap and nasty stunt, regardless of whether he did what he’s accused of.
Anyone who knows anything about campaigning to end violence against women and girls will know Scotland is home to some of the most respected women’s organisations and feminist trailblazers in the world.
Their work to create an improved culture of confidence around reporting sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape has been built up over decades and is still in progress.
Nicola Sturgeon has earned a reputation for being a First Minister who takes gender equality seriously and supports women and girls. She couldn’t be clearer that those raising complaints need a safe space in which to do so.
Every person who has donated to the Salmond crowdfunder has put that at risk.
Drowning out the #MeToo movement and undermining investigations is an awful look for Scotland, sending a damaging message to women who might have experienced unacceptable behaviour that they shouldn’t, or needn’t, bother coming forward with complaints about powerful men.
It’s exactly the kind of backlash against women we’ve come to expect from Donald Trump.
On the day the Salmond allegations surfaced, I had spent the afternoon visiting a rape crisis service where women and girls are waiting up to six months to access trauma support.
What does it say about us that we live in a society not only where sexual violence is still so prevalent but that it’s also the case that women and girls who have been raped and sexually assaulted have to wait months and months just to access vital counselling?
Last year, in a one-off interview in the Sunday Mail, I revealed in public for the first time that I had been sexually assaulted.
I hadn’t bargained for the large number of women who have since contacted me to share their own #MeToo stories or express the sincere solidarity that can only come from shared experiences.
Women supporting other women has helped survivors cope with the triggers of recent events. Our collective strength has been underestimated.
When the lived experience of too many women and girls in Scotland remains blighted by misogyny, we can’t afford for the #MeToo movement to be quietened – and certainly not by the cowardly trolls who pollute social media.
That allegations against powerful men are coming to light is in itself, perhaps, a hopeful sign that things are changing.
A positive that I take from the last few days has emerged from the alternative fundraising opportunities for genuine cash-strapped causes, such as rape crisis centres and Scottish Women’s Aid services.
I salute all of the brilliant feminist women and progressive men who are championing these causes and injecting some much-needed decency and solidarity into social media.
And with MSPs returning to Parliament next week, I’d love to see a willingness from all parties towards securing adequate and sustainable funding for all survivor services so they can be accessed quickly when people need them.
Through #MeToo, the influence of powerful, predatory men has been challenged by an unstoppable force but, in some cases, old habits die hard.
Recent events, sexist media coverage and the use of social media to scare women away have been deflating and distressing, yes, but this should only make us all the more determined to stamp out sexual harassment and misogyny.
Time will tell whether this is a defining moment for Scotland. The world is watching.
