Equality and Human Rights Commission: Disability Commissioner

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 10th May 2018 Grand Committee

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I first thank the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, for bringing this debate before us today. We know that he has a great record of campaigning for the rights of people with disabilities and he is well respected for the views he holds and the passion he holds them in, as we have seen today.

The UK has, through various pieces of legislation, always striven to promote equality in the workplace. Over the years, there have been different statutory bodies that deal with specific aspects of discrimination. It was a Labour Government who set up the Equal Opportunities Commission; its first chair was Baroness Lockwood, who has only recently retired from your Lordships’ House. This body was established under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and had statutory powers to help enforce Acts such as the Equal Pay Act and other gender equality legislation that existed in Britain at that time.

The Equal Opportunities Commission was established to tackle issues of sex discrimination. Then we had the Commission for Racial Equality, which was established in 1976 to address racial discrimination and promote racial equality. Then we had the Disability Rights Commission, again established by a Labour Government in 1999, which obviously focused on issues relating to disability discrimination. As my noble friend Lady Prosser pointed out, these commissions were merged into a new body, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, in 2007. In addition to taking on the responsibilities of the three existing commissions, they acquired new responsibilities to provide the same level of protection for all minority groups. The primary aim was and is to promote and protect everyone’s right to equal opportunities in the workplace, as laid down in the Equality Act 2010.

The legislation on equality and human rights has changed over the years and I believe it has improved: as we learn more about how many forms of discrimination there can be, Parliament will, we hope, bring forward legislation to deal with it. With all the legislation we have, and the protected characteristics, can a case be made for a separate disability commissioner? I am not so sure, since there are nine protected characteristics under the 2010 Act. There could be calls for there to be a separate commissioner for each of those, not just for disability. I know that when the legislation was brought in to set up the Equality and Human Rights Commission to bring everything together in one umbrella body, I was concerned about what would happen to the voice of women, for example. Other groups were very concerned about what would happen to their voice: would they all be lost in this bigger organisation?

I looked at the briefing that the EHRC sent out for this debate and it says that it believes its efforts should be embedded in all its work. Its strategic plan sets out the key issues to address all areas of life. It has a disabilities advisory committee with people with expertise in this field, and most people who sit on the committee have disabilities. This committee keeps strong links with the board of commissioners to keep informed of their activities and to input them as appropriate. The board maintains oversight of the work of this committee and is in regular contact with it. The Equality and Human Rights Commission believes that the changes it has made were designed to strengthen, rather than weaken, its approach to advancing the rights of people with disabilities. It has made a good case for the work it does on behalf of people with disabilities and it believes that that is the best way forward.

We can always improve on all levels of equality and discrimination and we are all looking at ways to make things better for people, to treat people equally and to ask what legislation we need to put in place to make sure that happens. There is still much work to be done to ensure that people with disabilities are treated with respect and given the support they need. I believe that our legislation can provide that, but we should look at other ways as well, if they are needed, as the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, strongly believes is the case. I look forward to what the Minister has to say on this.

Domestic Abuse

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 22nd March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Lister for bringing this debate before us today. In her opening remarks, she covered a range of areas of concern.

Domestic abuse is a blight on our society. Many women who are victims of domestic abuse live in a state of fear every day. According to Women’s Aid—which I thank for its very good briefing—between 2016 and 2017 there were 93,000 prosecutions for domestic abuse and, where gender was recorded, 91.8% were of males. During 2016, 78 women were killed by a partner or former partner, and 85% of these women were killed in their own home or the home they shared with the perpetrator. So home was certainly not a safe place for them. Those who have to live with an abusive partner suffer repeated and prolonged violence and abuse which can impact on all aspects of their lives and result in severe trauma.

Today’s report from the Inspectorate of Constabulary, which was discussed earlier in your Lordships’ House, says that under pressure police forces are taking days to respond to 999 calls that should be dealt with in an hour. The forces say that they have come under “significant stress” from slashed budgets and increased demand. Almost a quarter of forces in England and Wales are struggling to deal with emergency calls in a timely way. In some cases, crimes that require a “prompt” response—that is, police attending within an hour of the call—are not dealt with for days. In Cambridgeshire, for example, the average “prompt” response time was 15 hours. This could include cases of serious assault, including sexual violence.

The inspectorate puts the delays down to a lack of police officers available to attend the emergencies. This is extremely worrying in the case of women experiencing domestic abuse. They cannot afford to wait 15 hours for a response. A woman will probably be in desperate need of immediate help at the time she rings 999. So having to wait is not an option. In 15 hours it may be too late for her.

Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Zoë Billingham, who led the inspection, has said that she has,

“major concerns that policing is under significant stress. On occasions, that stress stretches some forces to such an extent that they risk being unable to keep people safe in some very important areas of policing. About a quarter of forces are all too often overwhelmed by the demand they face, resulting in worrying backlogs of emergency jobs, with officers not attending incidents promptly, including those involving vulnerable people”.

The announcement of a draft Bill on domestic violence is welcome, as is the consultation. However, concerns have been raised over the narrow scope of the Bill. It needs to focus on the support for victims and not just the criminal justice aspect. Domestic violence is one of the toughest crimes to police effectively and this has become much more difficult, as seen in the report out today, so there must be a drive towards progress in prevention and a future free from abuse.

As I understand it, mandatory sex and relationship education is to be introduced in all schools in England from September 2019. It should have a clear and gendered focus on tackling domestic abuse and violence against women and girls and be delivered with a “whole school approach” to prevention. Communities should be supported to talk about domestic abuse, such as through the Women’s Aid “Ask Me” scheme, and to tackle everyday sexist behaviour. I look forward to the ratification of the Istanbul convention to deal with the root causes of inequality and discrimination that underpin domestic abuse. I believe that will be contained in the new Bill.

Much has been achieved in raising awareness relating to all forms of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls. Both Labour and Conservative Governments have brought forward laws which help victims and bring the perpetrators to justice, but more needs to be done, as the noble Baroness, Lady Newlove, said. I hope that the new Bill, which I understand will come before your Lordships’ House in a few months, will go some way towards improving the lives of women and children and bring about a better way of life through preventive measures.

International Women’s Day: Progress on Global Gender Equality

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for bringing this debate before us and for her opening remarks, which show that we have made progress in many fields but still have a way to go yet. We all look forward to the day when a woman who gets a top job does not make headlines because that has become the norm.

The theme for International Women’s Day is “Press for Progress”. Making progress on what has so far been achieved for women is something we should all be looking to accelerate in all walks of life. Be it women in politics, in the workplace or at home, or young girls at school, or young women in further education, we need to press for more and faster progress.

When one look at young women and girls starting out in life, what can they expect? The Women and Equalities Select Committee carried out an inquiry into sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools, and published its report in September 2016. It showed that 29% of 16 to 18 year-old girls say they have experienced unwanted sexual touching at school; and that in 2014—I am sure that nothing has changed since—59% of girls and young women aged between 13 and 21 said that they had faced some form of sexual harassment at school or college in the past year. Young people told the committee that sexual harassment has become a normal part of school life—it is sad that sexual harassment at school has become normal. Laura Bates of the Everyday Sexism Project has described sexual harassment and sexual violence in school as:

“A widespread, regular and common problem… something that the majority of girls are experiencing”.


The committee’s report found inconsistency in how schools deal with sexual harassment and violence, and a lack of guidance and support for teachers.

The UK Feminista and the National Education Union published a report in 2017 on sexism in school. It reported that sexism in school is endemic but not inevitable. Consistent and ongoing action is required from schools, government and education bodies to tackle it. Its findings and conclusions were similar to the Women and Equalities Select Committee’s report. These two reports show us that there are many problems in schools. What action are the Government taking on the recommendations of the Women and Equalities Select Committee? They responded positively and, hopefully, they have actioned the measures suggested in their response.

One recommendation was the setting up of an advisory group to look at how the issues and recommendations can be best reflected within the existing DfE guidance for schools, including KCSIE—Keeping Children Safe in Education—and behavioural and bullying guidance. Can the Minister say what progress has been made and whether the advisory group is working? A change of culture in our schools is required, and this can be achieved provided the resources are put into it. Only then will the next generation of girls be able to attend school without fear of sexual harassment in a place that should be one of safety.

On educational achievements, as the Minister said, girls are outperforming boys at school, but they are not going on to be higher earners than men or to be equally represented in leadership positions. There are a number of reasons for this, but school and the education system have their part to play. Young women experience gender norms and stereotypes which prevent them from reaching their full potential. Only one in three girls who take maths and science at GCSE level go on to take a STEM subject at A-level or its equivalent, compared to eight out of 10 boys. The Education Policy Institute has found that there is a large gender gap in entries to arts subjects, with girls far more likely to enter them than boys. This has been the case throughout the last decade and it is widening.

There are more women than men starting apprenticeships. However, men are dominating the apprenticeships with higher earning potential. We are seeing the way in which gender stereotypes move from school subjects, to apprenticeships, to the workplace, and that male-dominated work is valued more highly. According to the House of Commons Library figures, in 2016-17 some 54% of apprenticeship starts were by women and 46% by men. The number of women starting apprenticeships in England has been higher than men every year since 2010-11, but men continue to dominate apprenticeships with the best earning potential. In 2014-15, nearly 17,000 men started engineering apprenticeships while only 600 girls did. That is not good, and more needs to be done to ensure we make better progress. What action are the Government taking to encourage more women to take up jobs such as engineering?

We are marking the centenary of women getting the vote and being allowed to stand for Parliament—we had a good debate on this on 5 February—but we all know that progress is slow for women who want to get into politics. Since 1918, 489 women have been elected to the House of Commons, but would it not be wonderful if it was the reverse and 4,801 women had been elected and only 489 men? I imagine there would have been quite a row about that. However, this is where we are. Out of those 489 women, only 45 have been Cabinet Ministers and there have been two women Prime Ministers.

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union global ranking table for women parliamentarians, the UK is 39th on the list. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2017 findings tell us that gender parity is more than 200 years away. That means it will happen neither within the lifetime of everyone living on the planet today nor for several generations to come. For women, that is very slow progress and we need to do much better going forward.

Progress in this field will not happen unless there is action similar to that which the Labour Party has taken by having all-women shortlists since 1997. This process has been used in all types of elections, not only to the Commons, and it works. I know other parties are taking action within their own ranks, but if we could all make similar progress, we would be well on our way to achieving the aims of the United Nations campaign “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”.

More than 130 countries have adopted some type of legal electoral quotas to deal with the underrepresentation of women in political life. Perhaps we could look at this in the UK and have a serious discussion about it. Otherwise, it will take 200 years to get there. Gender parity will not just happen; action has to be taken. We owe it to future generations of young women who want to go into politics and make their contribution in public service.

In February 2017, the Prime Minister announced that the Government were working towards a domestic violence and abuse Act, to which the Minister referred earlier. Last month, she confirmed that there would be a further wait for legislation. I am pleased to see that the consultation has been launched today. This is welcome because we have been waiting a while for it. However, there is concern that the scope of the Bill will be too narrow and focus solely on domestic violence and the criminal justice system, missing out vital wider issues such as sustainable funding for refuges. Will the Minister give a commitment to ensure that that this new Bill will address the full range of issues affecting victims of domestic violence?

On average, every week two women are killed by their partner or former partner. We all know this statistic and we all quote it. As the Minister said, we have perhaps become too familiar with it and need to consider how horrific that statistic is. But with austerity and cuts to funding of women refuges, many women have no safe place to go and there are stories that many of those who seek refuge are turned away as there is no place for them where once there was. This is an essential service for the protection of women and girls who are caught up in domestic violence, and more action and funding is required in order to see this happen. I hope that the consultation will allow different organisations to feed in, which is its purpose, and hopefully many good things will come out of it. I hope the new domestic violence and abuse Act will address these problems and make life perhaps a little better for women who suffer from domestic violence and abuse.

We will need to continue to “Press for Progress” for some time yet, but if the will and determination are there it will happen—I have no doubt about that. I look forward to the contributions of noble Lords and to the Minister’s reply.

Women: Economic Freedom

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Tuesday 6th February 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

Well, we have not had conversations with the BBC, but the EHRC is certainly interested in talking to it. I suspect that the BBC issue is an equal pay issue rather than a gender pay gap issue, but I am sure that that will all come out in the conversation that the EHRC has. Of course, the penalties for not complying with this are that the company or organisation involved has to do an equal pay audit, which is quite onerous.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that the Institute for Fiscal Studies published research yesterday showing that, by the time their first child is grown up, mothers earn 30% less per hour than fathers? A quarter of that gap can be explained by the fact that mothers are the ones who generally work part-time while their children are growing up, so they miss out on earnings growth and opportunities. While it is good to see the pay gap closing when women first get on the career ladder, when women and men decide to become parents it is usually the women who miss out. What are the Government doing to close this gap for women who are or have been working part-time?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I think that the noble Baroness has asked a very similar question to the noble Baroness, Lady Burt. As I said to her, we are doing a number of things to help women back into work after a break in their career. Supporting men and women with caring responsibilities takes the burden of responsibility off the woman. Shared parental leave is very important, along with working with businesses to support and increase women’s progression to senior positions. In addition, a large number of organisations now allow for flexible working when a woman returns to work.

Women: Events Industry

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Tuesday 30th January 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, every time something like this happens we hope that it is a thing of the past, and there have now been quite a few occasions at which this sort of behaviour has gone on. The Charity Commission is interested in this matter because of whether this charity acted in accordance with the rules.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that Section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 was an important provision, providing protection for employees against harassment from third parties? Unfortunately, the coalition Government repealed the section in 2013, even though they held a consultation and 71% of people said they would like to keep it in. Does the Minister agree that Section 40 should be reinstated in order to guarantee legal protection against harassment from third parties, and would she go further and revise it so that it requires only one previous incident of third party harassment instead of the previous requirement of two or more? In that way, all those who experience harassment, wherever they work, will have some measure of protection.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is absolutely right. In 2013, the coalition Government did indeed repeal specific provisions of Section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 which explicitly made an employer liable where they knew an employee had been harassed at work by a third party on at least two previous occasions and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it. These provisions, as well as being quite confusing, were considered redundant, as an employer can be liable for third party harassment under the ordinary harassment provisions in Section 26 of the Act.

Registration of Marriage Bill [HL]

Baroness Gale Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Friday 26th January 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans for bringing this Bill before us today, and thank him very much for our meeting earlier this week, which I found very helpful.

This Bill is much welcomed, and it has been welcomed all around the House today. Many regard it as a matter of equality. It will update the current system of registering marriages, which has not changed since 1837, and bring it into the 21st century. Moving from the paper-based system to an electronic-based system is common sense, and should make them much more secure, as well as ensuring that all marriages will be electronically registered. It is expected that that system could save money in the long term, estimated at around £31 million in the first 10 years.

I would like to seek clarification, as others have said, on Clause 1(4), where it says that if a person fails to deliver the,

“signed marriage schedule or signed marriage document, the regulations may provide that a person who fails to comply with such a requirement—

(a) commits an offence, and

(b) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale”,

which is currently set at £1,000. I know that my noble friend Lady Donaghy raised that, as did the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay. In the Bill it says that it is an offence, but in the Explanatory Notes it says that it would be a criminal offence. I am no legal expert on this, but I hope that we can have some explanation for that. I understand that the clause is based on the Scottish model from 1977, but it has never been used, and that if people slip up and do not send the certificate back in time they get a reminder and no other action is taken.

Many will be aware of the campaign to add the mother’s name to the marriage certificate. Like other noble Lords, I think this move is long overdue. Successive Governments have failed to address the fundamental inequality in marriage registration certificates in England and Wales, where the names and occupations of the fathers of the bride and groom are included but the mothers’ are not. The Prime Minister at the time, David Cameron, promised to act on this, at the Relationships Alliance summit in 2014, where he said the system did not reflect modern Britain and should be updated. That was four years ago. In January 2015 the then Immigration and Security Minister, James Brokenshire MP, said that the Government would continue to develop options that would allow mothers’ names to be on marriage certificates as soon as practicable. That was three years ago. He also said, in answer to a Parliamentary Question in 2015, that the Home Office would work,

“with all interested parties to confirm the most efficient and effective way to enable mothers’ names to be recorded on marriage certificates. Achieving this is likely to require additional funding and changes to legislation, IT systems and administrative processes. The Government will confirm a timetable for the introduction of the changes in due course”.

Has that work been carried out, as that commitment was made three years ago?

If we look at the contrast with registering civil partnerships, which came into law in 2004, the mothers’ details are included on the registration certificate. Scotland and Northern Ireland already include their details. I was surprised by this, but Scotland has included mothers’ names since 1855. There were no such things as computers then; it was all done by paper and pen. If it could be done in 1855, I would have thought it quite easy to do it much earlier than we are talking about doing.

In 2014, as many people will be aware, the Change.org campaign gathered 70,000 signatures on a petition that said:

“Marriage should not be seen as a business transaction between the father of the bride and the father of the groom”.


The Fawcett Society joined in this campaign and said:

“Requiring that marriage certificates recognise mums … would be another … step forward”,


in gender equality.

As my noble friend Lady Donaghy mentioned, and as I believe others did, we should have both parents’ names on the marriage certificates. Since we now have civil partnerships and same-sex marriages, one day some children of those couples will no doubt get married. I believe that the Bill will cover having their parents’ names on their marriage certificates as well. The Bill is a welcome step forward. As we mark the centenary of women getting the vote, what better measure could the Government take than to ensure it becomes an Act of Parliament by the end of 2018, as a tribute to all those who have campaigned and are still campaigning for equality for women?

Women: Political and Public Office

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Tuesday 16th January 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Gale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to encourage women to stand for political and public office.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, this year marks a century since women have been able to stand as parliamentary candidates and the Government will mark 2018 with grants to initiatives that encourage women to participate in democratic life via the centenary fund. We are also commissioning evidence to understand how to remove the barriers to participation.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her reply. As she said, it is the centenary of some women getting the vote. During the past 100 years, 489 women have been elected to the House of Commons as opposed to 4,801 men. The United Kingdom ranks at just 39th globally for women’s representation in Parliament. Does the Minister agree that our elected institutions should look like the people they represent? To achieve this, will she take the advice of the Women and Equalities Committee that the Government should set a domestic target of 45% representation of women in Parliament and in local government by 2030 in response to indicator 5.5 of the United Nations sustainable development goals, because the present situation really needs to be improved?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I wholeheartedly agree with the noble Baroness that Parliament should look like the people it represents and is legislating for, and as she says, a 50:50 Parliament is long overdue. That is why we will be consulting parties and producing evidence on a range of approaches that can help us to increase the number of women who stand as candidates. Initiatives such as #AskHerToStand and Vote 100 are ongoing to improve representation.

Domestic Abuse: Clare’s Law

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 11th January 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Gale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that all police forces in England and Wales implement fully and consistently “Clare’s Law” on the right of a member of the public to request background checks on their partners in relation to domestic abuse.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, HMICFRS’s latest report, published last year, highlighted improvements in the police response to domestic abuse and identified continuing challenges, including variable use of the domestic violence disclosure scheme, also known as Clare’s law. The Home Secretary is driving improvements in the police response by ensuring that police leaders take action on HMICFRS’s findings by chairing a national oversight group. The Government will also publish a draft domestic abuse Bill to drive a transformation in how all agencies, including the police, respond to domestic abuse to afford better protection to victims and bring perpetrators to justice.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her reply, but is she aware that when Clare’s law was introduced in 2014 it was regarded as a potential life saver but it is not working as intended? It depends on what part of the country one lives, as disclosure rates vary enormously. It is patchy, to say the least, and this is just not good enough. Many police forces are just not promoting and advertising Clare’s law. If they did, it could not only save lives but offer protection against domestic abuse. Will the Minister agree to look at this matter to find out why the law is not working as intended and report her findings back to your Lordships’ House? I really hope that she will not find that it is as a result of cuts in the police service. Some people working in the police service are saying that they do not have the resources to do this work.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Baroness highlights an important point. She is absolutely right to raise it and that is why, in my initial Answer, I said that the Home Secretary sees this as so important that she chairs the oversight group to review the progress being made in this area. The noble Baroness is right that we need consistency across police forces in tackling this issue. The new licence to practise will ensure that police officers have the skills they need to tackle this type of abuse—something they have perhaps not been sufficiently trained in previously.

Women: Inequality in Political and Public Life

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2014 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Gale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to eliminate the inequality of women in political and public life.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, to ensure the better representation of women in public and political life, the Government have enabled parties to use positive action should they wish to increase participation by under-represented groups, have extended to 2030 the ability of parties to use women-only shortlists, and have set an aspiration that 50% of new public appointments should be women by the end of this Parliament. Given that Saturday is International Women’s Day, I wish everybody a happy International Women’s Day.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her reply. Does she agree that progress is dreadfully slow, with only 252 women Peers ever appointed to your Lordships’ House, only 369 women ever elected to the House of Commons, only four women in the British Cabinet and only one woman ever appointed to sit in the Supreme Court, and that with the UK ranking at 64 in the global ranking of women’s representation, more needs to be done? In whatever walk of life, whether it be political or public life, women do not sit at the top tables of decision-making. Does she further agree that the time has now come for some drastic action and that what we should be moving to now is legislation for a quota system? Many other countries do it. Will she look at what other countries are doing and examine how successful quotas have been?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is quite right—progress is far too slow and much more needs to be done. Things are slowly speeding up. I am well aware of the work that she herself did in Wales to transform things in her party. I know also of the transformative effects that quotas have had in some of the Scandinavian countries so that they now no longer need to use quotas. It is very difficult under a non-proportional system to do that within the United Kingdom Parliament, but right across the board, whether it is women on boards, women in public life or women in Parliament, we are examining this extremely carefully. We absolutely take her underlying argument about the need for progress.

Violence Against Women

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 20th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

We recognise the challenge posed by female offenders and the fact that they themselves are often at risk of violence and have specific rehabilitation needs, as well as often having high levels of mental health problems. Many of them have indeed suffered domestic violence. The Ministry of Justice has just set up a cross-departmental advisory board on women offenders, chaired by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. This group will be looking at more provision in the community, more rehabilitation, a review of the prison estate to raise the profile of women offenders and the factors associated with offending that my noble friend has just pointed to.

[Baroness Gale]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the level of domestic and sexual abuse towards women and girls in our country is an absolute disgrace? Does she further agree that the daily displays of semi-nude women in the popular tabloids help only to build up disrespect among boys and young men in their formative years? Therefore, will she join me in congratulating the No More Page 3 campaign? More than 106,000 people have already signed its petition, including me. If she agrees to endorse that campaign, perhaps she could sign the petition herself, as I believe that it is one way of combating the disrespect that can build up among boys and young men.