Men’s Violence against Women and Girls

Opened the debate

In January, Tia Simmonds was killed by her husband; in March, Wendy Francis was stabbed to death; in April, Rachel McDaid was strangled; in June, Rita Fleming was drowned after sustaining head injuries from her fiancé; and in August, Courtney Mitchell was chased down the street and stabbed to death. Every three days in this country, a woman is murdered by a man. Domestic abuse is devastating not just for women but also for children who witness it. Less than 24% of domestic abuse crimes are reported to the police, with calls received every 30 seconds. Emily Darlington highlighted the importance of community campaigns and thanked an organisation in her constituency, MK ACT, for its work running a refuge and perpetrator programmes.

Government Response

I thank Emily Darlington for bringing forward this debate and highlighting the issue of violence by men against women. The data tells us that crimes such as domestic abuse, stalking, rape, and other sexual offences disproportionately affect women, predominantly committed by men. We have committed to halving violence against women and girls in the next decade and are taking steps to address root causes, underlying behaviours, attitudes, and ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice. The minister emphasises that domestic abuse is often a hidden crime not reported to the police. She outlines plans to improve police response through data-driven tools and algorithms to track high-harm offenders involved in domestic abuse, sexual assault, harassment, and stalking. Prevention and education will be fundamental to tackling root causes, including supporting the education system to teach children about respectful relationships and consent. The Government are currently reviewing the content of the relationships, sex and health education curriculum with a focus on children’s wellbeing. The minister reaffirms the government's commitment to halving violence against women and girls in a decade.