 I ask members to leave the chamber quietly please. On the next item of business, today's members' business debate on motion number 6, efo'r name of Fulton MacGregor, on to stand up to bullying. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Will those members who wish to speak in the debate please press their request-to-speak buttons now? Mr MacGregor, I call you to speak seven minutes please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It's a privilege to have the opportunity to lead a debate on this very important subject, and I'd like to thank colleagues from across the chamber for supporting my motion congratulating the Diana Ward charity for their stand-up to bullying campaign. The Diana Ward was set up as a legacy to Princess Diana and her belief that young people have the power to change the world for the better. The aim of the organisation is to inspire and recognise social action in young people across Scotland and the UK, and I think that they deserve tremendous credit for the work that they do. We should also note that the fantastic work of the big lottery fund, who have recently awarded a grant of £50,000 to the Diana Ward as part of a larger programme of grants awarding anti-bullying, which has totaled over £1 million since 2011. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage colleagues to get involved in the back-to-school campaign, which has currently been run by the Diana Ward, encouraging children and young people to never suffer in silence. Details can of course be found on their website. Scotland's anti-bullying service Respect Me was set up in 2007 by the Scottish Government and supports local authorities across Scotland in developing anti-bullying policies. They have created a consistent approach to combating the issue across Scotland. In 2015 Respect Me carried out the largest ever research into bullying in Scotland and found that 30 per cent of children had experienced some form of bullying in the 2013-14 school year. Their findings also showed that 40 per cent of those who had experienced bullying had either suffered wholly or partly online. It is clear that online bullying is on the rise. Children and young people spend a huge amount of time online, and it becomes another world for some. In emissions that one may have in person may be forgotten in the virtual world. At a recent meeting with Inspector Andy Thomson from Monkmans Police, I was encouraged to hear about the child exploitation and online protection project that is being run across Lanarkshire to educate children and young people across the region in the importance of online security. A large focus of the initiative is about making children aware of the dangers of sharing their details and images online. On that note, I congratulate Inspector Thomson and his team on their recent success, being shortlisted in the safer communities award in the early intervention and education category at last night's award ceremony. I really hope that that drives that issue into a more national setting. It is worth noting that bullying can happen to anyone of any age. Bullying by adults has probably increased with the rise of social media. We as politicians across this chamber regularly dismiss attacks as being from keyboard warriors, but if we were to look deeper into there are likely elements of harassment. All parts of society must stand up to bullying and we must lead, for example, as members of this Parliament and challenge any behaviour that we see or hear. We will only have to look as far back as Sunday to see the political editor of a Sunday newspaper making jokes about the issue of bullying. Individuals in a position of influence, like someone who has a large readership and ability to get a message to tens of thousands of people of all ages, should be using that position to educate the dangers of bullying rather than sending out a message that it is something to make jokes about in order to get a few laughs or a few retweets. Stonewall Scotland, Scotland's LGBT equality charity, has made some incredible inroads into bullying and discrimination of LGBT people in Scotland. However, the research shows that a shocking 99 per cent of children have heard homophobic language at school. It also shows that more than half of LGBT people in Scotland have suffered homophobic bullying. There must be a focus on education. We must ensure that everyone, young and old, is aware of the impact that bullying can have. Some might think that they are having a laugh or that it is just a bit of fun, but the research shows that self-harming is on the rise among victims of bullying. In extreme circumstances, we know that people have taken their own lives as a result of bullying and abuse. There have been some recent examples of that. Stonewall Scotland's research suggests that one in four young LGBT people in Scotland has attempted suicide. That is a terrifying statistic and action must be taken now to stop it. Half of all suicides among young people are attributed directly to being as a result of bullying, with bullying victims two to nine times more likely to attempt suicide. Sam H is Scotland's mental health charity and works closely with anti-bullying organisations due to the impact that bullying can have on the victims' mental health. There is a drive going on to raise awareness of the effects of bullying and training for adults to spot the signs and deliver training to children and young people on the impact of their actions. I encourage all schools and youth organisations to get involved with that. September is suicide awareness month, and Saturday is suicide awareness day. I encourage all members to get involved in raising awareness and to wear yellow on Saturday. I have decided to wear the yellow tie today. The Scottish Government should be commended on the action that it has taken since 2007 in combating bullying across the country. The campaigns to raise awareness are having a great success, but there is, of course, still more to be done. As I mentioned, more bullying is being moved to an online setting, making it even harder to notice when the victim does not speak out. Projects such as the act of Inspector Thomson that I mentioned are a great example of the work being done and should be replicated across the country. The message must be clear and it must be loud. Bullying is not acceptable. If you experience it or see someone else being bullied, speak out, tell someone, never suffer in silence. Presiding Officer, I want to finish with respect me's mission statement. It's a powerful message that everyone should know. You don't have to like me, agree with me or enjoy doing the same things that I do, but you do have to respect me. Thank you, Ms McGregor. I call Annie Wells. We fall by Stuart Stevenson. Four minutes please, Ms Wells. I'm very grateful for being given the opportunity to speak in the debate today and raise awareness of the credible campaign that has stand up to bullying. I think that it's very easy to think of bullying in a very set way, and I'm sure that the image that springs to most people's minds is one of the school bully harassing his peers or her peers outside of the school gates. Although that undoubtedly occurs, we should be doing everything we can to stop it. I want to raise, as others have, the effect that bullying has on all ages and backgrounds that in recent years it's taken on new forms such as social media and the medium of the internet. I was deeply disturbed to learn back in July about the death of a young, 16-year-old girl, Brittany Massuccini, from Glasgow, who, as a result of cyberbullying, took her own life at the age of just 16. Another Glasgow teenager who, as a result of all online bullying, attempted to take his own life only last month. Time and time again, I hear jibes in comments the effect that victims of cyberbullying should simply turn off their computer, a reference that Fulton made in his statement. I find this attitude frustrating, and as I'm sure as many others do, the simpler solution to this is that it shouldn't occur in the first place at all. I'm pleased to see that Police Scotland is making steps to tackle this issue, making a statement last month warning parents that they must prepare their children for the dangers of bullying and referring them to a number of useful websites such as respect me, get safe online and think you know, and assuring them that internet trolls would be traced and prosecuted for their acts online. I am under no illusion, however, that more still needs to be done, which is why I support this motion today in raising awareness of cyberbullying. Linking back to my original point, I was pleased to see the efforts of Glasgow University, which carried out a notable campaign last year seeking to widen people's views on cyberbullying and what can be done. Last year, for example, the University of Glasgow launched an anti-bullying campaign on its campus to tackle the casual discrimination among students and staff. The full-stop campaign highlighted offensive comments, not always deemed blatantly offensive, through the use of posters putting example quotes into isolation. I also want to turn my attention to the issues of LGBTI bullying again, which we all support the links in cross-party. We believe that LGBTI bullying has to come to an end as well. As an LGBTI person at school, I suffered bullying at school as well, and that was quite some time ago when I was 13 and 30 years old and I think that we are still speaking about it. How do we make that better? How do we get that resolved? Have we put a stop to it? And only recently, the Thai research reports that 64 per cent of LGBT youth reported being bullied are the result of their gender identity or their sexual orientation, and a shock in 37 per cent of the attempted suicide at least once as a result of bullying. To tackle that issue, Thai is called for cross-party working groups, and I know that the cross-party support is there among us all in the chamber, and I know that Glasgow pride only a few weeks ago there was a full show of support. I would like to see the issue tackled across-party and the implementation of the LGBT inclusive education as a legislative matter. I think that Thai's proposals are great, and I would like to see the topic debated in this chamber in the future. Once again, I would like to echo the sentiments of everyone in the chamber with regards to stand up to bullying campaign and congratulate Diana Ward's charity for its efforts. As with most things, awareness is crucial, and hopefully the campaign will go some way to altering mindsets. Thank you. Thank you very much, Ms Wells. I call Elaine Smith to be followed by the minister to sum up. I beg your pardon. Yes, I'm too quick. I'm happy to be followed by Ms Smith, if you wish. Thank you. Sorry. Did I miss you out? No. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I hope that that was not bullying from the chair, and I know that it wasn't. It certainly wasn't. It is a very serious subject. Like many members' debates, I expect that this will be one where there is no disagreement between us and our views on this. Let me start by congratulating Fulton MacGregor on giving us the opportunity to debate the important subject. It is a subject that is not confined to Scotland, and it is not confined to these islands. It is an international problem. In the last month, UNICEF released figures that showed that two-thirds of young people who survived in more than 18 countries had been victims of bullying. Now, how do people come to be bullied? It is issues over which they have no control very largely—sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, physical appearance—and bullying, even if it does not involve touching the victim is a form of violence, and we should treat it as seriously as we treat any violence whatsoever. It is also an attack on diversity, and diversity has a huge value. The greater the diversity in our communities, the greater the strength of our communities, the greater the ability to respond to changing circumstances. But bullying, particularly for youngsters, is something that can endure well into adulthood and for the rest of people's lives. It is not something to be treated trivially or to be ignored. It can lead to depression, academic failure, changes in behaviour in the people who themselves are bullied. Fear is what follows from bullying. Mental health will, of course, be affected by people who are bullied as well. Furthermore, it is behaviour that will be copied. If bullying is tolerated, others will see that it goes unpunished and will themselves be open to the potential that they themselves will become bullied. In the modern electronic world, we have some particular concerns about the new ways in which people can be bullied through social media, through emails, through texting and so on. There are some particular things that are different about the new social media. First of all, adults do not understand social media in the way that youngsters do. The moderating influence of an adult who might understand what is going on in a bully's mind is likely to be less clear-cut than it would be with the physical bullying that we have been used to in the past. Similarly, it tends to be a solitary activity, so there will tend not to be someone sitting next to the keyboard, the person who is seeking to bully someone online. There is not the moderating influence of someone looking over their shoulder who might just say, hey, Jimmy, that is just enough. Perhaps we should head off. It is also an activity that, being solitary as well, takes place in many cases late at night, when there may have been drink taken. There are all sorts of disinhibitions associated with a bully that are distinctly different and more threatening in the online world. Is there anything that we can do about it? Well, yes. Perhaps the social media providers could help by monitoring what is going on in social media. We know that the technology is there. Twitter, for example, has a regular banner of what is trending. In other words, they know what is going on on Twitter. Perhaps it is time that Twitter and other social media providers had a look at whether they can help detect and inhibit bullying through that medium. I congratulate the Stand Up to Bullying campaign on their actions. I hope that we, too, can be part of making an effort to promote a more understanding society. I hope that this debate makes its modest contribution to that, but we all have a duty to stand up to oppressive behaviour, because that is what bullying is. I congratulate Fulton MacGregor on securing the debate on this important matter this evening. As we have heard, cyberbullying is a key issue that is increasing and relevant every year in Scotland, and it is something that we should all be taking very seriously. Nowadays, bullying does not stop at the school gates, and its victims are not limited to young people, as noted by Fulton MacGregor in his opening remarks. It occurs in homes, wider communities, boardrooms, lunchrooms, stadiums, pubs—it is all around us—and, of course, bullying exists online. We know that. That can involve a persistent and unrelenting attack, and it often targets those who are already vulnerable in one way or another. Access to technology, but specifically the use of mobile devices, means that those being bullied online cannot even go home to a safe haven and then shut the door on the bullies, because they are with them constantly. Such bullying can, as we know, have tragic results, including suicide amongst young people who are the victims of sustained online abuse, particularly when it is from their peers. That was mentioned in her speech by Annie Wells earlier. Raising the issues in debates like this is a good step on the way to addressing the very modern scourge of cyberbullying, but it needs more work across society. I thought that Stuart Stevenson made some particularly interesting points on the issue. We should recognise and commend the work that was done by the Diana Award mentioned in the motion and other charities in our communities. In particular, they stand up to bullying campaign. However, in order to adequately tackle cyberbullying, we need to raise awareness more widely about the negative consequences of personal attacks on others, which are perpetrated from behind the barrier of a computer screen or a mobile phone. We have all heard stories of school-yad bullying in attacks via phone or social media, and in some cases, that strays into direct harassment. However, quite often, public awareness of the difference between joking around and the more serious charge of harassment is pretty poor. If we can increase knowledge of the outcomes and the preventions, it is possible that we can eventually bring an end to the worrying phenomenon. Although we recognise that, we should consider the effects of such abuse or, sometimes, as it is known, trolling online on adults, especially those who have to use social media for their jobs or simply as a means of necessary communication. They cannot turn their technology off to get away from it. I hope that we are finally beginning to gain a better understanding of how sexism, for example, can hurt women online, but we also need to extend that to include all forms of identity abuse, and some of that has been mentioned already in the debate. Being careful with the use of language is very important, and offensive comments should not just be dismissed as banter. They cannot just be dismissed as banter. As Parliamentarians, we also need to look towards new forms of bullying that might fly under the radar as technology develops. I note my mind to the fact that the victims of cyberbullying are as diverse as they are, numerous. Specifically among young people, cyberbullying can lead to prolonged absenteeism from school, as well as negative consequences on physical and mental health. Such effects on health and wellbeing can occur in anyone of any age who is experiencing cyberbullying. So, doing our best to address the individual and specific concerns of victims, I think, will go a long way to changing the narrative around online bullying, but a word of caution, I would say that we must be careful when we are doing that, not to unjustly criminalise certain sections of society, specifically the young, as some interventions in the past have tended to do, so that is one word of caution at the end. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, for calling me this evening in the debate, and I once again congratulate Fulton MacGregor on securing this really important debate this evening. Thank you very much. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I want to thank Fulton MacGregor for bringing the subject of bullying to the chamber today, and let me be absolutely clear that bullying of any kind is completely unacceptable and when it happens, we all have a responsibility to address it. We need to intervene to deal with it quickly and effectively. Before we talk about what is being done to address bullying, it is important to remind us all of the positive lives and contributions of young people. The latest behaviour in Scottish schools research shows that the overwhelming majority of children in Scotland schools are generally well behaved. The OECD report tells us that Scottish students are resilient, and further research from the health behaviour in Scottish schools survey tells us that Scottish young people report high life satisfaction. Nevertheless, we must make sure that those children and young people who are affected by bullying are supported effectively. A number of speakers have spoken in particular about the impact that bullying can have on children and young people's mental health. That is one of the reasons why this Government is bringing forward a 10-year strategy for children and adolescents' health and wellbeing, which will focus on both physical and mental health. We also have a dedicated mental health minister in Government, which demonstrates our strong commitment in this area. Our national approach to anti-bullying for Scotland's children and young people has children's rights at its centre and provides a focus for all anti-bullying work across Scotland. That makes it clear that, as well as intervening when bullying happens, we need to tackle the root cause and help to change negative views and poor perceptions so that we can stop bullying from taking place in the first place. In recent years, Scotland has seen legislative and policy changes to put greater focus on supporting our children and young people's wellbeing, which is why we are refreshing our anti-bullying guidance, supported by key stakeholders, including respect me, Scotland's anti-bullying service for children and young people, which this Government established and funds to provide support across all Scotland's local authorities and schools. This Government believes that there is no place in Scotland for prejudice or discrimination and that everyone deserves to be treated fairly. We must continue unrelentingly to tackle prejudice and discrimination and promote equality and diversity, and that begins early in schools. The refresh of the national approach to anti-bullying will be clearer about the impact of prejudice-based bullying, including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, and how schools and youth organisations can respond appropriately to it. Health and wellbeing is at the core of the school curriculum, and relationship, sexual health and parenthood education are in turn key to health and wellbeing education. In 2014, we published guidance that clearly states how important it is that relationship, sexual health and parenthood education addresses diversity and reflects issues relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people or children with LGBTI parents, such as same-sex marriage and hate crime reporting. In response to the points that Annie Wells raised around the work that will be taken forward, we, as a Government, will continue to work with a range of organisations to ensure that schools address the important issues that LGBTI young people face, and we will ensure that teachers have the skills, knowledge and the confidence to embed inclusive approaches within their schools. Through addressing prejudice-based bullying and promoting an inclusive approach to relationships, sexual health and parenthood education, children will learn about tolerance, respect and equality to help to address and prevent prejudice. Moreover, the recently published delivery plan for excellence and equity in Scottish education confirmed our commitment to a review of initial teacher education programmes. That will ensure that appropriate detail on equality is provided across both primary and secondary sectors and working with the GTCS, more support for teachers and equality issues is provided through career long professional learning. It is vital that our refreshed anti-bullying policy is informed by the views and experiences of children, including more than 8,000 children and young people's responses to respect MACE 2014's survey. For the children who told us that they had experienced bullying, the vast majority knew the person who was bullying them, whether online or offline. In fact, young people do not refer to bullying online as cyberbullying. Bullying is bullying wherever it takes place, and we must remember that the online world is part and parcel of our children and young people's lives. I think that that gets to the heart of the point that was being made by a number of speakers about the attitude of, well, you should just turn off your computer or you should just not go on to that particular website. I think that misses the point that, first of all, we should not put the onus on the victim to address their own behaviour rather than the perpetrator, but it fundamentally misunderstands the importance often that access to the internet and social media can have four young people in many other ways. However, we must do all that we can to ensure that they are safe, resilient and equipped to respond to the challenges and opportunities that being a young person today brings. Fulton MacGregor highlighted the rise in online bullying. This Government is committed to making the internet a safer place for children and young people. We want them to enjoy the internet and all that it has to offer. We also want them to stay in control and know what to do and who to go to if they feel at risk. That is why we have committed to refreshing our internet safety action plan, linking it with our strategies on digital participation and cyber resilience, so that appropriate frameworks of training, support and information are in place for professionals and parents, as well as children and young people. Stuart Stevenson made an important point about the role of social media providers in relation to the bullying that can often take place on their platforms. There is a job that needs to be done by those providers, many of which are multi-billion-dollar companies, in order to ensure that the users of those platforms are safe in the interactions that they are undertaking and that any behaviour that risks either bullying taking place or other forms of harassment from being encouraged should be stamped down on as soon as possible. I think that there is enough evidence out there to suggest that the response often by those providers is at best sluggish and at worst non-existent, and I think that more needs to be done by those organisations to tackle that. Elaine Smith rightly highlighted the dangers that can exist in the online world for children and young people, but it is also important to remember that the internet is a fundamental part of the lives of children and young people today and can also be a fantastic source of education and entertainment and can often be the first place that they go to to talk to their friends and indeed to meet new friends. I would encourage young people, while at the same time being cognisant of the risks that exist, to embrace the internet's huge potential for expanding their horizons. For me—and I am sure for everyone here today—I want a Scotland where young people can enjoy all the positive aspects that new technology and social media bring without the fear of being bullied or exploited, where young people form healthy relationships and value diversity, where our children and young people can grow up in a safe environment in which their rights and needs are respected and protected and where every child and young person is supported to be who they want to be, to be treated equally, to enjoy equal chances and choices in all aspects of their lives and to be valued for the contribution that they make to our society and communities. I thank again Fulton MacGregor for bringing this debate to the chamber and for all speakers for making their contributions. We all have a role to play in this and I am sure that we will all continue to work together to ensure that our children's lives are as safe as they possibly can be. Thank you. That concludes the debate and I will now close this meeting of Parliament.