Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Rape and Sexual Violence in Conflict

Tuesday 21 June 2022 · 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 3 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The use of rape and sexual violence in conflict is classified as a war crime, and the Department is prioritizing efforts to address this issue.
  • A UK team has been dispatched to assist with evidence collection, including interviewing witnesses and survivors and preserving images.
  • The budget for women and girls' development aid is being increased to 745 million a year to ensure greater humanitarian support.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Marco Longhi
Ukraine Women & Equalities
Context

Reports indicate significant use of rape as a weapon of war by Russian troops in Ukraine. The question stems from addressing the global issue of using rape and sexual violence as a tactic in conflicts, specifically highlighting recent cases.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to help protect women and girls from the use of rape and sexual violence in conflict. We have had terrible reports of rape and sexual assault by Russian troops in Ukraine. What steps is my right hon Friend taking to ensure safe and effective evidence collection, so that those responsible can be held to account?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

The use of rape and sexual violence in conflict is a war crime, and I have made tackling it a top priority. We launched the Murad code earlier this year for safe evidence collecting and dispatched a UK team to help with evidence collection by interviewing witnesses and survivors, preserving images and videos.

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Q2 Marco Longhi
Crime & Law Enforcement Ukraine
Context

An exhibition displayed the experiences of young women and girls who have been raped and sexually abused in Myanmar, Syria, and Nigeria. The question addresses ensuring accountability for those committing these crimes.

Question

What the perpetrators of those awful crimes need is accountability. Can there be someone who will take the evidence and ensure those people know that some day they will go to prison, or even worse? They will receive that in the next world, but let us make sure they get it in this world.

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

Through the International Criminal Court and work on evidence collecting, we aim to hold perpetrators accountable. The conference hosted in November focuses on accountability for crimes committed around the world. Additionally, the budget for women and girls development aid is being increased specifically to tackle sexual violence.

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Q3 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Foreign Affairs Women & Equalities
Context

The question addresses the aid budget for women and girls following significant cutbacks. It also queries why the Foreign Secretary has not visited Afghanistan post-fall of Kabul.

Question

I place on the record my deepest respect for and thanks to our wonderful development and diplomatic staff, who do a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances. I visited Afghanistan this month, which was truly heart-rending. It appears that Mr Lammy and I are the only British MPs to have visited. Why has the Foreign Secretary failed to visit, one year since the fall of Kabul? She knows protecting development gains for women is fundamental, given millions face starvation, new restrictions, and loss of livelihoods. Given her statement on restoring aid budgets, will she make a statement to the House on when reversing £1.9 billion in cuts to women's programming?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

I condemn the Taliban's actions reversing women's rights. We are restoring the women's and girls' budget back to £745 million a year, ensuring the humanitarian budget is greater to tackle issues around the world.

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