Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Street Safety: Women

Monday 22 March 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial questions focused on street safety for women were raised on 2021-03-22.
  • The Home Secretary acknowledged the importance of addressing violence against women and girls, mentioning a Crime and Justice Taskforce.
  • The Home Secretary announced a thematic review of violence against women and girls in policing led by Her Majesty's inspectorate.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Geraint Davies Lab
Crime & Law Enforcement Women & Equalities
Context

The question addresses concerns over violence against women and girls, specifically mentioning Sarah Everard's tragic death. It highlights a doubling of recorded rape since 2014 and the need for immediate reporting mechanisms.

Question

What steps she is taking to help ensure that the streets are safe for women walking home at night? Our hearts are with the friends and family of Sarah Everard after her tragic and brutal killing, which comes at a time when recorded rape has doubled since 2014 and when 99% of reported rapes are not charged. Will the Government now enable people instantly to report street nuisance and harassment from their mobile phones in texts and images to allow immediate police intervention? Will she also invest in immediate DNA same-day testing together with Nightingale courts to fast-track rape cases, so that women are safer and justice is done?

Answer from Priti Patel (Home Secretary)

The hon. Gentleman has highlighted some important points around rape, sexual violence and abuse within the criminal justice system. I can confirm that, as part of the work of the Crime and Justice Taskforce, the Government, with the Ministry of Justice and the courts system, are looking at a range of measures to see how we can do more to fast-track cases and also to make sure that victims are protected in the right kind of way. Alongside that, a great deal of work has taken place across Government with the end-to-end rape review.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Instant reporting via mobile phones and DNA testing were not addressed specifically

How: Looking At A Range Of Measures

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Q2 Geraint Davies Lab
Justice & Courts Women & Equalities
Context

The question follows the Home Secretary's announcement about training and improving outcomes for abused women. It highlights that only half of English and Welsh forces have received Domestic Abuse Matters training, showing a 41% increase in coercive control arrests.

Question

I am delighted to hear that the Home Secretary has finally joined up with us on trying to do better to address violence against women and girls, and that the taskforce was announced last week; we look forward to working with her. We are hopefully going to enter a new era on street harassment, thanks to the deeds of Labour women here in the Commons and in the other place, who pushed the Government to record misogyny as a hate crime. With that in mind, may I ask the Home Secretary what she intends to do to train police forces? Can she tell us why only half of English and Welsh forces have undertaken Domestic Abuse Matters training, even though research shows that where forces have received it, there is a 41% increase in coercive control arrests?

Answer from Priti Patel (Home Secretary)

I am sorry that the hon. Lady has taken the tone that she has. Well, many people are cross, but she should recognise that this should never become a partisan or party political issue. I appreciate that she would like to chunter from the sidelines, but the fact of the matter is that when we look at the work done across this House and by all parliamentarians, no one individual holds the licence to determine the changes in outcomes that we collectively want to see for women and girls. A great deal of work is taking place. I have commissioned a thematic review of violence against women and girls in policing, which will be led by Her Majesty's inspectorate.

Not addressed: The specific training commitment was not addressed; instead focused on the tone of questioning

How: Partisan Issue, Collective Work

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Q3 Jess Phillips Lab Birmingham Yardley
Policing & Resources Justice & Courts Women & Equalities
Context

The question addresses the Home Secretary's commitment to improving training for police forces on domestic abuse. It references previous statements made by Victoria Atkins about the importance of such training.

Question

I am delighted to hear that the Home Secretary has finally joined up with us on trying to do better to address violence against women and girls, and that the taskforce was announced last week; we look forward to working with her. We are hopefully going to enter a new era on street harassment, thanks to the deeds of Labour women here in the Commons and in the other place, who pushed the Government to record misogyny as a hate crime. With that in mind, may I ask the Home Secretary what she intends to do to train police forces? Can she tell us why only half of English and Welsh forces have undertaken Domestic Abuse Matters training, even though research shows that where forces have received it, there is a 41% increase in coercive control arrests?

Answer from Priti Patel (Home Secretary)

A great deal of work is taking place. I have commissioned a thematic review of violence against women and girls in policing, which will be led by Her Majesty's inspectorate. It will look at how the police deal with these issues. Over the last 12 months, through the National Policing Board, some very strong work has taken place across 43 police forces to look at the work and training in conjunction—Would the hon. Lady like to listen to what I have to say, rather than the sound of her own voice?

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific question about all forces undergoing training was not directly answered

How: Sound Of Her Own Voice

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