Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Domestic Abuse: Support for Victims

Monday 17 January 2022 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Barbara Keeley inquired about steps to improve support for victims of domestic abuse.
  • The Minister highlighted the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which aims to strengthen protection for victims and enforce legal consequences for perpetrators.
  • Keeley also questioned the need for better data collection and support services tailored to older domestic abuse victims.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Barbara Keeley Lab
Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

No specific background provided, general concern about support measures for victims.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to improve support for victims of domestic abuse.

Answer from Rachel Maclean

Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 will strengthen our protection of victims and ensure that perpetrators feel the full force of the law. Furthermore, we will be publishing the first ever domestic abuse strategy to transform the whole of society's response to domestic abuse to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators as well as strengthening the whole system needed to deliver those goals.

Answered
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Q2 Barbara Keeley Lab
Women & Equalities
Context

The all-party parliamentary group for ageing and older people reviewed shocking figures indicating that women aged over 60 are one in five of femicide victims, with the crime survey only recently starting to collect data on people over 74.

Question

Does the Minister recognise the need for both more effective data collection and support services that are designed around and suitable for older domestic abuse victims?

Answer from Rachel Maclean

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important issue. She is right that more needs to be done. More is being done, and we will set out more ways that we will help older victims in our domestic abuse strategy, which we will publish shortly. It is vital that every victim of domestic abuse, no matter their age, can get the right help. That is why we have provided additional funding to support victims of rape and domestic abuse, and we are giving local authorities more money to enable them to play their part.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The need for better data collection was acknowledged but not addressed specifically in terms of new initiatives or concrete plans.

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