Violence against Women and Girls

Question

What steps her Department plans to take to tackle violence against women and girls?

Question

I am proud to support the Government's mission to halve violence against women and girls. I know from my time as a councillor that the experience of victims is much better if the police empathise with them. Will my right hon. Friend agree to look at work done by Alison Lowe, the Deputy Mayor of West Yorkshire, on connecting survivors with police, to ensure that the police are more empathetic when dealing with these awful crimes?

Question

I welcome the Home Secretary's comments, particularly in the light of a National Police Chiefs' Council report that states that one in 12 women will be victim of a violent crime by a man. While police action is necessary, does she agree that this is a whole-Government and whole-society problem? We have to look at societal change and education, including health education, and we have to look at misogyny in the round, because it is about more than just violence; it happens to women every day, in the most everyday of circumstances.

Question

I welcome the steps that my right hon. Friend is taking to reduce violence against women and girls. Women's refuges and other dispersed accommodation play a vital part in helping women and their children to escape domestic abuse. Scarborough has the highest domestic abuse rate in North Yorkshire, but we do not have a single refuge in the constituency of Scarborough and Whitby. Planning permission for a women's refuge at Danes Dyke was granted in 2022, but progress has stalled due to rising business costs. Will the Home Secretary please advise on how the shortfall in funds referenced by North Yorkshire council, Beyond Housing and Homes England can be dealt with, so that this vital service can be built?

Question

My constituency carries painful scars from a time when vulnerable girls were subjected to abuse and exploitation, but across the country it is not just so-called grooming gangs that present a danger to girls; abuse happens online, in institutions and in the home. What measures will the new Government put in place to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence, to ensure that what happened to vulnerable girls in my constituency can never happen again?

Question

The situation facing specialist charities is acutely difficult. Many local services have had to close their doors due to a lack of funding, including, sadly, Suffolk Rape Crisis. Long-term sustainable funding is crucial if women are to be supported after abuse and kept safe from future harm. Could my right hon. Friend confirm that Labour's mission will include a review of funding for these life-saving services?

Question

There were nearly 400 offences of violence against women and girls in Derby in 2022-23—shamefully, a fifth of all crimes in the city. I welcome the £83,000 for closed circuit television that will be put into operation by our new Derbyshire police and crime commissioner, but what further support can this Government provide so that women feel safe, and are safe, in our city centres?

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How will my right hon. Friend work with the devolved nations to ensure that we meet those targets?

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The right hon. Lady may be aware of Plymouth's “Male Violence against Women and Girls Report” and its recommendations. It was commissioned to help the city, including part of my constituency, rebuild following two violent tragedies in 2021. Our belief has always been that our recommendations could form a blueprint for how towns and cities across the country address violence against women and girls. Will the right hon. Lady meet me to discuss how we might work together on this issue?

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I applaud the new Government's mission to halve violence against women and girls. In my previous role as the chief executive of Devon Rape Crisis, I learned how insidious widespread access to pornography among our children and young people is, and how damaging it is to both boys and girls. Could the Secretary of State assure me that the Department for Education will be involved in this mission, with a widespread education programme in all schools across the country about how dangerous pornography is? Will she commit to working with internet companies to further tighten up safeguards, in order to create a fail-safe mechanism, so that our young people cannot access this vile pornography?

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Does the Home Secretary agree that it is shocking when there is violence against female emergency workers? How committed is she to ensuring that perpetrators face the full weight of the law?

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Next month, the community in Twickenham will once again remember Amelie Delagrange, the French student who, many Members will remember, was brutally murdered on Twickenham Green some 20 years ago. Sadly, so little has changed since then. In a local survey by Richmond and Kingston youth council, 69% of boys said that they would not intervene, or would be unsure about intervening, if they witnessed friends sexually harassing someone. May I reiterate calls from both sides of the House for work with the Department for Education to make sure that boys, as well as girls, learn what is and is not acceptable?

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I thank the Home Secretary very much for her positive answers to all the questions put forward. University of Ulster research from 2023 shows that an eye-watering 98% of women in Northern Ireland experience at least one form of abuse in their lifetime. Between 2017 and 2021, 35 women and girls were murdered there, a level of violence unprecedented across this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. What discussions will the Home Secretary have with the Justice Minister back home about strategies for Northern Ireland for tackling abuse?

Question

Once again, I welcome the right hon. Lady to her place. I welcome her Government's commitment to halving violence against women and girls. This issue remains a long-standing priority for me, as my role as Foreign Secretary included leading an international strategy on this issue. With increases in arrest rates for VAWG crimes by 25% between 2019-20 and 2022-23 and a 38% rise in rape charge rates over the past year, how will we measure the halving of these incidents to ensure under-reporting does not dissuade women from coming forward?