In today’s newsletter: First minister John Swinney has pledged to put an end to violence against women and girls. But can he turn ambitious laws into real change? Good morning. Violence against women and girls, in all its myriad forms – physical and mental, blatant and insidious – is a global challenge. It reaches back through millennia and, lately, it has been turbo-charged by technology, which offers abusers new ways to shame, harass and monitor victims. What would it take to eradicate it? Scotland’s first minister John Swinney wants to find out. Today, he will set out his programme for government (the Holyrood equivalent of the King’s speech) , and Swinney surprised many when he pledged to put ending violence against women at the heart of his government’s ambitions for the coming year a