Teachers need time to train, says Bill Ramsay of EIS.

Employers need to signpost how valuable this training is as part of professional development, he argues.

Cara Spence of LGBT Scotland highlights that bullying has a significant impact on attainment.

She suggests the Scottish government should unpick some of the findings of its surveys relating to attainment and protected characteristics.

Image source, bbc

Dr Daniela Sime from University of Strathclyde explains her research with over 1,000 young people from Eastern Europe in Scotland and the UK.

Dr Sime says 77% of them have experienced racist or xenophobic attacks with most of them happening at school.

A lot of these children said they did not report incidents because they happened on a daily basis, she states.

Dr Sime points out there is no significant data to suggest Scotland is different from the rest of the UK.

Image source, Getty Images

Almost half of LGBT young people in Scotland are bullied at school, a report has suggested last September.

Stonewall Scotland research found 48% were bullied for their sexuality in 2017 - a drop from 52% in 2012.

And more than 63% frequently or often heard homophobic language in school, with 91% regularly hearing phrases such as "that's so gay".

The Scottish government said bullying of any kind was unacceptable and must be addressed quickly.

Researchers also found that only a third of the youngsters, aged between 11 and 19, said teachers intervened to stop bullying if they were present.

The proportion of those bullied soared among trans young people, with 71% reporting bullying and 65% saying they were unable to use the toilets they feel comfortable in at school.

The survey found that 96% of trans respondents had deliberately harmed themselves, while 43% had attempted to take their own life.

Read more.

Carol Young from CRER says a dramatic rise in recorded incidents is expected as schools get better at picking them up.

If voluntary approaches are not working, there has to be a move towards mandatory reporting of bullying she insists.

Cara Spence from LGBT Youth Scotland suggests it will take time for the number of incidents to increase while teachers get more confident with reporting.

Carolyn Fox McKay from Girlguiding Scotland says young people need to feel they are being listened to when they do come forward.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Mary Fee says there should be mandatory recording of all incidents of bullying.

Ms Fee insists: "Every single incident should be recorded."

Iain Smith from Inclusion Scotland agrees every incident should be recorded, but points out prejudiced based bullying of disabled children is not being recorded.

There needs to be clear investigations of all incidents of bullying as well, says Katie Ferguson from Respect Me.

Ms Ferguson: "We need to make sure that young people feel safe to disclose when bullying has happened."

The committee's report said it had uncovered "a real sense that prejudice-based bullying is on the increase".

It concluded that racism "has made a resurgence", gender-based bullying and harassment "appears to be commonplace", and bullying towards young lesbian or gay people "is still prevalent".

The committee made 29 recommendations, among them measures it wanted the Scottish government to adopt in its refreshed anti-bullying strategy.

These included a preventative approach to bullying, improved research to understand the extent and nature of the problem, mandatory recording of bullying incidents and more training for teachers.

The government and councils were urged to "ensure that consent and healthy relationships be taught from the beginning of primary school in an age-appropriate manner to safeguard children" amid evidence of children as young as 12 being coerced into sexual activity.

SNP MSP Gail Ross asks about progress made following the Scottish government's anti-bullying strategy.

Katie Ferguson from Respect Me points to a strengthening of the national framework and improvements to guidance on recording bullying.

Iain Smith from Inclusion Scotland suggests it is too early to tell as yet.

It is difficult to judge what sucess means, he states.

Is an increase in recorded bullying a success of a failure, he asks, because this could mean either an increase in incidents or improvements to reporting.

Image source, Getty Images

Last summer, the Equalities and Human Rights Committee said more needed to be done to tackle bullying in schools.

It called for human rights to be taught from the earliest age possible to change attitudes.

Committee convener Christina McKelvie said it had heard "gut-wrenching" evidence from young people during its inquiry into the issue.

But she stressed there was already some "inspiring" work being done.

Read more.

The committee will now hear from:

• Carol Young of Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, external (CRER)
• Bill Ramsay from EIS, external
• Dr Katherine Botterill of Edinburgh Napier University
• Mary Berrill from Education Scotland, external
• Carolyn Fox McKay from Girlguiding Scotland, external
• Iain Smith of Inclusion Scotland, external
• Cara Spence of LGBT Youth Scotland, external
• Katie Ferguson from Respect Me, external
• Dr Daniela Sime from University of Strathclyde

An inquiry was held last year with a report published in July 2017, which was debated by MSPs in November.

Look back on the inquiry here. , external

Image source, Scottish government

We're going to switch to coverage of the Standards Committee when it finishes its private session musings, to bring you its ruling on whether to to suspend former government minister Mark McDonald from parliament after a harassment probe.

If you wish to continue watching the Equalities and Human Rights Committee evidence session on bullying when we switch, watch here at Scottish Parliament TV, external.

Image source, bbc

Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton asks how we ensure the focus on human rights continues at Holyrood in the long term.

Rogier Huizenga of the Inter Parliamentary Union says parliamentarians come and go and it is much more likely that parliamentary staff will remain and have memory of this.

These staff need the requisite training to serve the committees they work with and legal staff are indispensable, he explains.

Mr Huizenga recommends every parliament should have a human rights committee.

Tory MSP Oliver Mundell asks about the relationship between devolved parliaments and national parliaments when it comes to signing treaties.

Gianni Magazzeni from the UN says there should be greater scrutiny and engagement of all parliaments with human rights treaties.

Rogier Huizenga from the Inter Parliamentary Union adds that there are a number of examples around the world where parliaments have been taking steps to ensure they are fully in the picture and ensuring proper implementation of human rights.

Image source, Scottish government

Holyrood's standards committee is to rule on whether to suspend former government minister Mark McDonald from parliament after a harassment probe.

Mr McDonald quit as early years minister after admitting sending an "inappropriate" message to a woman.

BBC Scotland understands that the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life has found the MSP guilty of sexual harassment based on that case.

However no evidence was found to support another complaint against him.

We'll bring you coverage of this ruling as soon as the standards committee comes out of private session.

SNP MSP Gail Ross asks about raising awareness of human rights among the public.

Rogier Huizenga of the Inter Parliamentary Union says it important for the public to see all parliaments rallying around human rights issues.

Having politicians talk about specific human rights and urgent topics is very important, he adds.

Mr Huizenga also notes that many politicians across Europe go into schools to discuss human rights.

Image source, bbc

Committee convener Christina McKelvie says this is the first time Holyrood has had such direct engagement with the UN.

Rogier Huizenga of the Inter Parliamentary Union gives his opening statement after the opening words from Gianni Magazzeni from the UN.

The Inter Parliamentary Union is the global organisation of national parliaments.

It works with parliaments to safeguard peace and drive positive democratic change through political dialogue and concrete action.

The committee agreed to hold an inquiry into how human rights are taken into consideration at the Scottish parliament.

The inquiry covers three broad areas:

• participation and engagement
• procedure and process
• accountability

Image source, Scottish parliament

The inquiry is being taken in two phases:

1. Seeking briefings on other legislatures in the UK, international comparisons of best practice and information on UN concluding observations
2. Seeking views of experts shape the engagement activities and public evidence gathering

Read more about the inquiry here., external

Image source, bbc

The committee is taking evidence, via video conference, from:

• Gianni Magazzeni from the United Nations, external
• Rogier Huizenga of the Inter Parliamentary Union, external

Image source, BBC/Getty Images

The Equalities and Human Rights Committee will hold two evidence sessions this morning.

The first is on its human rights and the Scottish parliament inquiry, where MSPs will hear from the UN and the Inter Parliamentary Union.

After that, MSPs will follow-up on its previous inquiry on bullying and harassment in schools with a range of stakeholders.

Read the committee papers here., external