The petition of the residents of the United Kingdom
Declares that the international day for the elimination of violence against women and girls takes place on the 25 of November, further declares that 16 days of activism will follow, ending on 10 December, Human Rights Day – indicating that violence against women is the most pervasive breach of human rights worldwide; (notes the United Nations objectives to call for global action to increase awareness, galvanise advocacy efforts and share knowledge and innovations to end violence against women and girls once and for all); and further notes that for 2022 the theme is ‘Unite – activism to end violence against women and girls’, which encourages us all to become activists for the prevention of violence against women and to stand in solidarity with women’s rights activists.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons observe and commemorate the international day for the elimination of violence against women and girls.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by David Linden , Official Report, 28 November 2022; Vol. 723, c. 750 .]
[P002784]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Miss Sarah Dines):
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a Government priority. VAWG is unacceptable and preventable. The Government also recognise the work Parliament is undertaking to tackle violence against women and girls and this remains of paramount importance.
There was a programme of cross-governmental activity to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, and the 16 days of activism that followed. This included Ministers across Government conducting visits, attending events, making speeches and debating these important issues in Parliament.
The Home Secretary visited Refuge—a charity providing specialist services to victims and survivors of domestic abuse. Here she saw first-hand the importance of the National Domestic Violence Helpline the Government help to fund, which offers support and advice to victims and survivors of domestic abuse. The Deputy Prime Minister launched the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse support line. The Safeguarding Minister visited Hampshire Police, learning about work that the force is doing to intervene with perpetrators of domestic abuse. Alongside this, there was a programme of social media activity on Government channels raising awareness of the 16 days and the Government’s commitment to taking action on VAWG, including showcasing case studies from domestic abuse victims and highlighting key schemes to help tackle abuse like ‘Ask for AN I’.
The Government’s multi-year campaign to tackle violence against women and girls, ‘Enough’ continued to run throughout this period, with advertising on TV, radio and out of home billboards, including across the transport network. The campaign encourages members of the public to call out harmful behaviour and teaches them how to intervene safely when they see instances of abuse by using the mnemonic, ‘STOP’ (Say something, Tell somebody, Offer help and Provide a diversion). During this period, the Government issued press notices to consumer media to complement the campaign advertising and partnerships. The notices highlighted types of VAWG, and offered simple demonstrations of how to intervene and prevent it.
In July 2021 we published our new cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy to help ensure that women and girls are safe everywhere— at home, online, at work and on the streets. This was followed by a complementary cross-Government Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan which we published in March 2022. These documents aim to transform the whole of society’s response to these crimes with actions to prevent abuse, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen systems to respond to VAWG.
There were various policy announcements made throughout this period. This includes:
Launching the VAWG Support and Specialist Services competition for ‘by and for’ services to ensure support is in place for victims and survivors which best serves their needs. This will award up to £8.4 million over two years.
Formally launching the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line. The service offers free, confidential emotional support for all victims and survivors aged 16 and over in England and Wales
Investing up to £7.5 million in funding for domestic abuse interventions in healthcare settings, helping to equip more healthcare professionals with the right tools to identify and respond to domestic abuse.
Supporting the introduction of a specific offence on public sexual harassment.
There are 127 commitments across the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan. The 22% of these are completed and a further 76% of commitments are in progress. There have been a number of successes including launching the national communications campaign, ’’Enough”, which has reached millions of individuals across England and Wales, and criminalising the practice of virginity testing in the Health and Care Act. The ‘Enough’ campaign is the Government’s national communications campaign to challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within wider society, educate young people about healthy relationships and consent, and ensure victims can recognise abuse and receive support. To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, it collaborated with influences and commercial partners to share pledges in support of the day via social media and public relations activity.
In relation to tackling violence against women and girls internationally, the Government hosted a conference on ‘sexual violence in conflict’. Over 1,000 delegates from over 57 countries came together to reaffirm their commitment to preventing sexual violence in conflict. At the conference, the UK launched a new three-year Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative Strategy, announcing further funding of up to £12.5 million to deliver its objectives.
Phase 1 of the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office’s ‘What Works to Prevent Violence’ Programme conducted rigorous evaluations of violence prevention interventions across Africa and Asia that reduced violence by around 50%. In 2021, FCDO launched a £67.5 million successor initiative to scale-up proven violence prevention approaches and use evidence to drive more effective international action in the most challenging areas, such as what works to prevent violence in conflict and crisis and for the most marginalised groups.