Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Baroness Featherstone and Barry Sheerman(10 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lynne Featherstone
We are currently looking at that. Of course, legal aid is available for domestic violence, but we are looking at it specifically in relation to FGM.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
I want to push the Minister and set this point in a broader context. There are worrying minorities in this country that do not believe in equal rights for women—it is not just FGM, but a number of other awful things that happen to women. Is it not time that women in this country, especially new immigrants, knew their rights and protections under the law?
Lynne Featherstone
I could not agree more, and that is why we are working closely across government and in communities to push this information down into those communities. As the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, some of these communities are particularly closed off, which makes it even more imperative to work with their members to take these messages in, including in schools and through front-line professionals.