Stalking

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Monday 27th November 2017 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Gale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consult on establishing a register of serial stalkers.

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

My Lords, the Government are fully committed to tackling stalking and we are working with partners to look at ways to strengthen the management of serial offenders. Stalking perpetrators can already be captured on the dangerous persons database and can be managed by the police and the probation service under the multi-agency public protection arrangements. We are not convinced that a new register would improve how serial perpetrators are managed and are concerned that this approach may risk a disjointed police and offender management response.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her response. Is she saying that she does not see the need for a separate register despite all the evidence from Paladin? Surely the Minister would agree that serial stalkers and the perpetrators of domestic violence should be subject to orders that place a positive obligation on them to change their behaviour. They should be included on the ViSOR database and thus MAPPA to ensure that they are subject to robust and proactive supervision, monitoring and tracking, which would give better protection to victims.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I am fully supportive of a register for all the purposes that the noble Baroness has set out. The point I made in my first Answer was that running several registers might lead to a fragmented approach by the police and the probation service. One register capturing both violent and serious sex offenders enables the police to deal more effectively with the types of people that we all want to capture.

Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) (Disabled Access) Bill [HL]

Baroness Gale Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Friday 24th November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, for bringing this Bill before us today and congratulate him on his persistence and determination to bring about step-free access to all those people who use wheelchairs, and also for the extensive and well-informed briefings which he has provided. I also thank the noble Lord for agreeing to meet with me this week, which was most helpful.

The noble Lord makes a compelling case for action and has much evidence on his side. For example, all around the House today there was support for this Bill, including from our three formidable noble Baronesses, Lady Masham, Lady Brinton and Lady Thomas, with their great experience in this field. I give as an example the inquiry conducted by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee into disability and the built environment in February this year. The committee found that,

“too often, disabled people find their lives needlessly restricted by features of the built environment. Many workplaces and service premises are inaccessible”.

The committee believed that the Equality Act 2010,

“should, in theory, prevent inaccessible buildings and public spaces being created and enduring”.

It went on to say that,

“the burden of ensuring that an accessible environment is achieved falls too heavily at present on individual disabled people, an approach that we consider to be neither morally nor practically sustainable”.

I think that says it all. Why should disabled people have to take this action themselves? This is wrong. As the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, said in 2014, not enough is being done regarding enforcement of Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010.

The Women and Equalities Committee recommended that Approved Document M of the building regulations, which is currently based on a 16-year old standard,

“should be updated to ensure it is still relevant and adequately addresses access for disabled people today, adopting an inclusive design, pan-impairment approach”.

It also recommended changes to the Licensing Act 2003 to mandate local authority licensing officers to act on failure to make licensed premises accessible.

The House of Lords Equality Act 2010 and Disability Committee, which the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, chaired, found that,

“evidence of problems in obtaining this right”—

to reasonable adjustment—has,

“emanated from almost every part of society”.

The committee cited examples, such as shops, restaurants, hospitals, sports grounds and other entertainment venues failing to make reasonable adjustments. The committee found a lack of awareness among service providers of their obligations, particularly of the anticipatory duty. The noble Baroness, Lady Deech, went on to say:

“Over the course of our inquiry we have been struck by how disabled people are let down across the whole spectrum of life. Access to public buildings remains an unnecessary challenge to disabled people. Public authorities can easily side-step their legal obligations to disabled people”.


In a Westminster Hall debate in February this year on publicly accessible amenities for disabled people, when asked what the Government were doing to ensure compliance with the enforcement of the Equalities Act 2010, Marcus Jones, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government, said that compliance with the Act was a legal duty and suggested that,

“perhaps we need to remind service providers that that is a duty, not an option”.—[Official Report, Commons, 23/2/17; col. 472WH.]

If the Government are acknowledging this, then perhaps the Minister in her reply can say what action has been taken to remind service providers of their duty. Maybe that could go some way to ensuring enforcement.

We have had two committees in recent years holding inquiries into access for people with disabilities, and a debate in Westminster Hall in February. It is interesting to note that each one has said that much needs to be done to improve the lives of people with disabilities in terms of their obtaining access to public amenities. It seems that in this country today it is okay to effectively bar around 800,000 people in wheelchairs from being able to enter many places we take for granted such as shops, pubs and restaurants. How much does this curtail people from having what should be a normal and enjoyable day out with friends and family, because they are unable to enter a premise because of the steps?

In his speech, the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, said he could place some letters in the Library for Members of the House to read. I would be very pleased if he could do that, along with any other relevant letters he might feel would help in this case.

The Bill offers a solution that will make life better and easier for people in wheelchairs. We on our side support the Bill, and I am happy to have further discussions with the Minister and the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra. I hope that we can work together and that the Government can give some positive responses to this today.

Women’s Suffrage Centenary Fund

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 2nd November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

In view of what I have said, of course I agree with my noble friend. She played such an important part not only in history but in where we are today. When I look across this Chamber and the other place, I know I would not be here had it not been for her.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the fund that the Minister mentioned and I hope it will get lots of publicity. She will be aware that since 1918 only 489 women have been elected to the House of Commons. Much more needs to be done to break down the barriers facing women in all walks of life. Does the Minister agree that, in celebrating the centenary, we should look at the next 100 years and do all we can to improve the lives of women by introducing better legislation to combat sexual and domestic abuse, be it in the workplace or in the home, and to change the culture of our society so that women and girls are treated equally? One measure that the Government can take is to accelerate the ratification of the Istanbul convention. That would be a great step forward into the next century for women and girls.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right about the Istanbul convention. As she knows, that process is imminent. She is right to mention the next 100 years. If we do not think about the women in the pipeline in all sorts of ways—in Parliament, in the workplace and in their public and private lives—we will slow down the progress that we have made in the previous 100 years. Therefore, I totally agree that we can never lose sight of where we want to be.

Disabled Children: Online and Verbal Abuse

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Wednesday 18th October 2017 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Gale]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rise in online and verbal abuse targeting families with disabled children.

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

My Lords, this Government abhor all form of hate crime, including disability hate crime, whether it takes place offline or online. That is why we take a cross-government approach to tackling the issue through the hate crime action plan.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her reply. I am sure she is aware that reports of hate crime against disabled children have risen by nearly 150% in two years. Amanda Batten of the Disabled Children’s Partnership said this week:

“Families often feel like they can’t go into busy public spaces or post images onto social media for fear of being publicly shamed or having to be submitted to people telling them that their child must lack quality of life because of their disability”.


Although the Home Office has said that there have been improvements in reporting techniques, the Government must now address the underlying reason for hate crime’s existence, especially when it is aimed at children. What funding is available to support officers and the justice system in tackling these terrible and shocking abuses of disabled children?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I thank the noble Baroness for her Question. She is absolutely right to raise it. To mete out hate crime against children must be among the worst types of hate crime of all, because they are defenceless. She will have noticed the Home Secretary’s announcement last week that, having provided more than £450,000 to the Metropolitan Police towards the development of an online hate crime unit, we are now developing a national hate crime hub online. We are also working with industry to tackle hate crime. The police are well aware and working with the CPS on understanding why the number of referrals and prosecutions is perhaps not as high as we might have expected. The volume of reporting tells us that people are becoming less reticent to come forward to report what is frightening crime against their children.

Istanbul Convention

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Wednesday 12th July 2017 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Gale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their timetable for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, following the passing of the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017.

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

My Lords, we signed the convention in 2012, demonstrating our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls. We are committed to ratifying the convention; measures in the new domestic violence and abuse Bill will extend extraterritorial jurisdiction over certain offences, ensuring that we fully comply with it and can deliver on that. We will set out a timetable in due course.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her reply, but does she agree with me that the importance of ratification will be that women and girls in the UK would be guaranteed the right to live their lives free from violence and the fear of violence, as the convention sets out standards for the prevention, protection, prosecution and monitoring of issues related to violence against women? Will the 2017 Act marry up with the draft domestic violence and abuse Bill, as it covers only England and Wales? What steps will she take to ensure that Scotland and Northern Ireland comply with extraterritorial jurisdiction? Can she give some idea of the timetable of the draft Bill, as it may help to let us know when the Istanbul convention will be ratified?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, there are quite a few questions in there—but on the devolved Administrations, the noble Baroness is right to ask, and she will know that we liaise regularly with them on issues such as violence against women and girls. The Minister for Vulnerability and Safeguarding has been in touch with her counterparts in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales on the issue, and Ministry of Justice officials have had contact with the devolved Administration on this issue.

The noble Baroness touched also on the 2017 Act from Dr Eilidh Whiteford, which attracted a significant amount of media interest, and was sponsored in your Lordships’ House by the noble Baroness. I look forward to debating the issues through the domestic violence and abuse Bill.

Domestic Violence and Abuse

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 6th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Manzoor, for bringing this important debate before us today. It is the latest in a list of debates that we have had on this topic over many years. However, it is an important debate and hopefully we can highlight and deal with some interesting matters.

The noble Baroness, Lady Manzoor, referred to zero tolerance. There is more than one form of domestic abuse. Although many people still think there is only one form—a man hitting a woman—we know that there are many forms of domestic violence, which can be psychological, physical, emotional, financial or sexual. It is a largely hidden crime but it can take over every aspect of a victim’s life.

I know these figures have been given by nearly everyone who has spoken today, but on average two women are killed by their partner or ex-partner every week in England and Wales. That figure has remained about the same for many years. I hope that one day it will be reduced.

Domestic abuse-related crime makes up 10% of total crime and, on average, the police receive more than 100 calls relating to domestic abuse every hour. Domestic abuse exists as a form of violence against women and girls and results from the deeply ingrained inequality between men and women in society. Domestic violence discriminates between genders—it is a gendered crime. The Crown Prosecution Service reported 100,930 prosecutions for domestic abuse in 2015-16. Where gender was recorded, 92.1% of defendants were male and 7.9% were female.

This debate is even more relevant given the report released yesterday by the Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. It highlighted how the police and prosecutors are letting down victims of harassment of stalking. My noble friend Lady Royal and the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, eloquently spelled out exactly what the report indicated. Hopefully it will be looked at carefully. I pay tribute to both noble Baronesses for the great work they have done in this field in highlighting the issue and for bringing to the House horrendous statistics and stories about how the police are reacting. Listening to those stories was horrifying for me—and, I am sure, for all noble Lords.

The report shows a lack of understanding of stalking and domestic violence and reinforces the need for specialist understanding, training and services to properly deal with these crimes and, more importantly, to help and protect victims. The report showed that, in 95% of the case files reviewed, care for the victim was deemed inadequate. These crimes are often missed or misunderstood by the police and the CPS. The crime survey for England and Wales 2016 indicated that one in five women and one in 10 men aged 16 to 59 had experienced stalking behaviour since the age of 16.

The Government’s commitment to tackling domestic violence is welcome and their domestic violence and abuse Bill, promised in the Queen’s Speech, is a real opportunity for us to change the way we identify and respond to domestic violence. I hope that it is not just a consolidation of our current legislation. We welcome the Bill, but it must go further than the justice system. Victims of domestic abuse need support in a multitude of ways. They need support with accessing mental health services, bank accounts, safe housing and welfare provision.

It was Labour that first proposed a violence against women and girls Bill in 2014 and the pledge appeared in our 2015 manifesto—as did proposals to appoint a commissioner and set minimum standards in tackling domestic and sexual violence and abuse. We welcome the commitment to a domestic violence and abuse commissioner. It is important that they are a representative of victims and survivors. Is the Minister aware that in Wales a national adviser has been appointed to advise Welsh Ministers to pursue the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015? Has the Minister had any discussions with Welsh Ministers to see how this is working and whether what the Government are proposing is something similar? A key element of the law should also be to monitor the statutory agencies and hold them to account. Will the Minister confirm that this will be a key part of the role, particularly in light of the report from the Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate?

Legislation is one step, but in addition we must ensure that resources are available to put in place a complex web of specialist services needed to ensure that victims of domestic violence get the support they need. It is the Government’s cuts to domestic violence services and the punitive welfare reforms that have been having a devastating impact on the support available to women when they are at their most vulnerable. The coalition Government of 2010 to 2015 made changes to legal aid for domestic violence that have left 40% of victims unable to provide the evidence required to receive support. I welcome the fact that the Government have begun a review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Will the Minister confirm that the review will include a targeted review of access to justice for domestic violence victims? Will she update the House on the changes promised in February this year that additional types of evidence would be accepted and that time restrictions would be scrapped? Have these changes been implemented?

In recent years local authority spending reductions and local commissioning practices have seen 17% of specialist refuges in England closed. The funding for domestic violence services is particularly fragmented and the amount of local authority funding differs from service to service. Women’s Aid has found that 10.2% of services responding to its survey received no funding at all from local authorities in 2015-16 and that one in four referrals to refuge services in the same period was declined due to a lack of capacity. This figure does not even take into account how many more referrals were not made because the refuge was already known to be full. What is more, local authority commissioning criteria often value cost over quality, leading to larger generic service providers being able to undercut specialist services, despite their inability to demonstrate that they have specialist support available.

A woman’s refuge is not just a place to lay your head at night. They not only provide a place of physical safety but help women to access health, counselling services, housing, benefits and legal advice. They are trusted organisations with a track record of delivery that generate high levels of self-referrals. Specialist services, particularly those serving the BME communities, are unique. Their local proximity is part of what gives them such value. By relying solely on local authorities to commission refuge services, the Government are failing to maintain a strategic approach to the delivery of domestic violence services across the country. Will the Minister tell the House what the Government are doing to monitor specialist domestic violence refuges and service providers that have closed, and how they can assure that every woman has access to the support they need?

Government cuts are hitting not just in one place. Everywhere we turn we see the withdrawal and rolling back of services that were put in place under a Labour Government to protect victims of domestic abuse. If we take magistrates’ courts, for example, domestic violence cases used to be heard in magistrates’ courts on one specific day, with an independent domestic violence adviser available to support victims and an appropriate, trained magistrate present. Because of government cuts, these cases are now heard whenever they can be fitted in, and the specialist advice and understanding are lost.

The Government’s new funding proposals for supported housing are also a real threat to refuges. Housing benefit currently covers about 89% of weekly housing costs. Women’s Aid says that the local housing allowance cap to housing benefit would force 67% of refuges to close. Refuges are a national network of specialist services and the challenge they face is, again, unique. The Government need to deliver a separate solution for refuges and they must engage domestic abuse experts and organisations in the design of this solution. If they do not, they will deny victims the support they need and will leave women and children with nowhere to go.

Much has been said on the level and scope of domestic violence and abuse. We need to come up with a very good programme of prevention. That is something we would all want to see. I know that much has been tried, but I hope that other programmes of mutual respect can been carried out, especially with young children and continuing throughout life. I know that many organisations do valuable work in this field, but we will need constant vigilance to get to a world where women and girls do not have to deal with this form of violence and abuse.

The Conservative manifesto for the 2017 election committed to,

“support victims of domestic violence to leave abusive partners, reviewing the funding for refuges”.

Can the Minister therefore give a commitment to sustainable and long-term funding for these vital services to ensure that women and children fleeing violence can access the support that they desperately need? Can she confirm that the Government’s manifesto commitment means that they will ensure access to specialist and gender-sensitive support for survivors and not just to general victims’ services?

I have not yet mentioned the Istanbul convention. I have a Question on that coming up one day next week, so have not brought it into the full discussion today. I know that it is of interest and that some noble Baronesses mentioned it today. Can the Minister say—if not today then perhaps next week—when ratification will take place? I think we all look forward to the day when that happens.

EU Court of Justice Ruling: Religious Signs

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Wednesday 15th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her Statement. The court ruling, however, raises some real concerns about religious freedom in the workplace, including those of Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab. Although I think the Minister has been quite clear in her Statement, will she say positively that people can express their faith at the workplace, and in a professional manner, as they choose? Can she confirm that the Government believe that preventing women wearing the hijab, as exampled in this case, is simply and unconditionally wrong?

What advice and guidance will the Government give to employers on the court ruling, and will it reinforce the rights of employees in the UK to express their religious freedoms? Finally, will the Minister say what direct communication the Government have had with G4S, the employer in this case? G4S holds a number of government contracts. I hope that she can reinforce with G4S its employees’ rights to wear clothing necessary for their religious practices.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

As I said in my Statement, and will restate now, we will work with the ECHR to update guidance for employers for dealing with religion or belief in the workplace. As I also said before, and am happy to repeat, indirect discrimination can be lawful or unlawful. It is unlawful where it is neither legitimate nor proportionate. When an employer seeks to justify why it has banned religious symbols or certain items of clothing, it has to point out the legitimacy and proportionality of why it has done so. If that makes it far more difficult for one group of people to be employed, the discriminatory effect of their actions can be called into question.

Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Bill

Baroness Gale Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Friday 10th March 2017 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Gale]

That the Bill be now read a second time.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to bring this important Private Member’s Bill to your Lordships’ House. It has been guided with conviction and passion through the other place by its sponsor, Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP. Its purpose is to unblock the log-jam which has thus far delayed ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, which is better known as the Istanbul convention. It also puts on a statutory footing important mechanisms to hold the Government to account in their progress towards ratification.

The UK signed the Istanbul convention in June 2012, having played an important role in its negotiation and drafting. However, despite the important progress made by the present and previous Governments—including a range of new legislation that prepares the UK for compliance with the treaty, and repeated verbal commitments to the principle of ratification—the process has stalled and, nearly five years on, the treaty remains unratified.

The Istanbul convention is unique, ground-breaking international legislation which enshrines the basic human right of women and girls to live free from violence in both the public and private spheres. Preventing violence against women and domestic violence can save lives and reduce human suffering. The convention focuses on three important aims: preventing violence against women, protecting victims and survivors of abuse, and prosecuting perpetrators. It brings greater coherence, consistency and strategic direction to the important work already undertaken by organisations, communities and governments that aims to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women and promote substantive equality between women and men. It has been hailed as the best piece of international policy and practice for eliminating violence against women that exists anywhere. It is the first legislation that sets minimum standards for government responses to victims and survivors of gender-based violence. The Istanbul convention is broad in scope, and the aims are very specific. Covering criminal, civil and migration law, it sets minimum standards for the protection of survivors and for access to services.

Governments who ratify the convention are required to work to prevent violence and bring about an attitudinal change. It explicitly covers many manifestations of gender- based violence, including physical and psychological abuse, stalking, sexual violence including rape, forced marriages, female genital mutilation and so-called honour crimes. The Istanbul convention is unique in that it understands that states cannot be responsible for preventing violence against women and domestic violence on their own, and calls on countries to work together to tackle cross-border issues. It calls on all members of society to help reach the ultimate goal of a world free from all forms of violence against women and domestic violence. It recognises that women are disproportionately affected by sexual and domestic violence because of underlying gender inequalities, which are also compounded by abuse. The convention also places an emphasis on challenging the misogynistic attitudes that perpetuate gender inequality as a means of preventing violence and abuse.

Preventive measures are not the only important issue. Protecting victims and survivors and providing them with appropriate support are vital. States that ratify the Istanbul convention are required to ensure that accessible shelters exist in sufficient numbers and in adequate geographical distribution. Ratifying the Istanbul convention would put a duty on the Government to ensure that women’s refuges exist and provide important support at a time when women need it most. It also puts on a statutory footing the provision of rape crisis centres, 24-hour advice lines and access to useful information. The Council of Europe says:

“It should be borne in mind that it is not enough to set up protection structures and support services for victims. It is equally important to make sure victims are informed of their rights and know where and how to get help”.


It is an important consideration that anyone can be a victim of sexual violence or domestic abuse, regardless of economic background, age, ethnicity, religion or gender. However, we know that certain characteristics increase the risks: for example, poorer women and disabled women are at a greater risk of domestic abuse, while women from some ethnic minorities or cultural backgrounds are at greater risk of certain forms of gender-based violence.

One question that is asked frequently is, “What about the men?”. I would like to deal with this, because it was a point of contention in the other place. The convention itself explicitly addresses this issue in Article 4, where it makes it clear that its provisions apply to all persons, regardless of gender, and a whole range of other protected characteristics. However, the convention primarily focuses on women, and it is important that it does, because sexual violence and domestic abuse affect women to a hugely disproportionate extent, both in terms of prevalence and severity. In England and Wales in 2015, over 92% of the prosecutions brought for domestic abuse involved a male perpetrator and a female victim. Two women a week die at the hands of a partner or former partner. This does not mean that crimes committed by women against men, or by men against men, are less serious—they are serious—but to ignore the gendered dynamic of such types of crime would be wrong. One woman in four in the UK will experience sexual or domestic violence in her lifetime. The sheer scale of the problem demands that we take it more seriously.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights, in its sixth report of the 2014-15 Session, entitled Violence Against Women and Girls, recommended that the UK Government ratify the Istanbul convention. It raised concerns at the time that the inter-ministerial group had insufficient powers, with witnesses to the committee criticising the group for not taking a holistic approach towards ending violence against women and girls because of the lack of representation from immigration officials. Asylum Aid recommended at the time that the Immigration Minister and UK Visas and Immigration should have representation on the group to ensure that the issues arising are dealt with effectively. I would appreciate it if the Minister said something on this today—or perhaps she could write to me later—as I would like to see these issues addressed.

On 24 November last year, I asked the Minister in your Lordships’ House why the Government had not yet ratified the Istanbul convention and when they intended to do so. The Minister said that the Government were committed to ratifying, but that in order to do so they would need to legislate to take extra-terrestrial jurisdiction over a wide range of offences.

[Noble Lords]

Extraterritorial.

[Baroness Gale]

Did I get that wrong? I thank noble Lords for correcting me, because that would have taken the jurisdiction a lot wider than I intended. As a result of that, I shall refer to extraterritorial jurisdiction as “ETJ” from now on; I think that will be a lot easier.

Perpetrators who are UK nationals or residents can evade prosecution by committing crimes as abhorrent as rape while abroad, and that should stop. There is precedent on ETJ: the Government already exercise such powers for similar offences committed against children overseas. They exercise ETJ in a range of other areas—for example, drugs offences, financial crime, terrorism and other forms of organised crime.

I was pleased to see that the Prime Minister has committed herself to overseeing a new Bill on domestic violence. I hope that such legislation will include the changes necessary to bring the UK into line with Article 44 of the Istanbul convention—that is, those relating to ETJ. Could the Minister outline the intention behind this new legislation and whether it will allow the Government to take ETJ over the necessary offences, ensuring that the UK is compliant with the convention and thereby paving the way for ratification?

There is a real need for action in the efforts to end violence against women. Two women are killed by their partners or former partners every week in England and Wales alone. In the past year, 1.2 million women were victims of domestic abuse in England and Wales. In the same timeframe, across the UK, 87,500 rapes and more than 400,000 sexual assaults were reported to police. It is well known that most cases of sexual assault and rape go unreported, so we must not underestimate the scale of the impact on women and children in our communities. There is clearly a need for action.

Ms Rashida Manjoo, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women, has said:

“Violence against women and girls is the most pervasive human rights violation we face globally, whether in times of peace, conflict or post-conflict transition”.


It is so normalised that we hardly even notice how much we put up with. I was moved by some of the contributions from Members in the other place who spoke courageously of their own experiences. It affects us all. But violence against women is not natural and it is not inevitable.

I turn to the specifics of the Bill. Made up of three clauses, it requires the Secretary of State to report to both Houses on the steps being taken to enable the UK to ratify the convention. It requires the Government to come forward with a timetable by which they will ratify the convention. I was pleased with my meeting with the Minister this week, for which I thank her, to discuss the Bill in the run-up to this debate, and I welcome the Government’s support for the Bill.

Clause 1 requires that the Secretary of State lay a report in both Houses of Parliament setting out the steps necessary to ratify. This includes passing legislation through not only both Houses but the devolved Administrations of Scotland and Northern Ireland. I know the Government are committed to working with the existing devolved Administrations, and I welcome that commitment.

Clause 2 requires the Government to make an annual report to both Houses on the progress toward ratification no later than by 1 November in each year leading up to ratification. That report comes with a Government commitment to make an Oral Statement to Parliament, so that MPs and noble Lords can hold the Government to account on progress towards ratification. The convention itself commits the Government to thorough reporting requirements through annual reports to the Council of Europe’s expert group, GREVIO. It is important that parliamentarians have opportunities to scrutinise this report.

In Committee in the Commons, the Government committed to making an Oral Statement on their compliance with the convention post-ratification. I would be grateful if the Minister made a similar commitment so that these issues can be debated in your Lordships’ House, rather than a report merely being placed in our Library.

The Bill is short and simple but it has proved to be important, unlocking the logjam in Government departments. I hope it will lead to ratification at the earliest possible opportunity. While we in this place have the privilege to shape and develop legislation, we need to take cognisance of our responsibilities too. I have been heartened by the powerful civil society movement of women and men across the UK who have campaigned for the UK to ratify the convention.

The breadth of support from organisations and activists shows the strength of feeling on this issue. The IC Change campaign is one of the most inspiring campaigns. Run by volunteers, it helped to mobilise thousands of people the length and breadth of the country to engage with MPs in order to get the Bill through the other place. The women who led that campaign should be very proud. It is often the norm for civil society to be out in front on issues such as this. Women activists have campaigned, and Parliament has to try to keep up.

In the other place, the Bill was expertly stewarded by Dr Eilidh Whiteford, in the face of some adversity, but with overwhelming cross-party support, including from the government and opposition Front Benches. This Bill is important. It gives us the opportunity of oversight towards ratification, and a timetable—hopefully short—within which that can be achieved. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Gale]

My Lords, I thank all noble Members of the House who have taken part. I especially thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, for his contribution and all the wonderful work he has done in this field. I also thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans for speaking about his experiences of listening to women who have suffered domestic violence and for bringing that to the House. I mention the two male Peers who spoke because we need women and men to take part—this issue is not just for women, as other noble Lords have pointed out.

I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Uddin, for her support and for talking about her experience in this field. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, for her work on the Joint Committee on Human Rights and for speaking about how that committee wants the Istanbul convention to be ratified. I was interested in the intervention by my noble friend Lady Farrington, who said that some people think that such behaviour does not happen in their area. We know that it happens everywhere, in every county in England, Wales and Scotland—and in the whole world, actually. No country is free from it, which is why it is really important to take action.

I thank my noble friend Lady Sherlock for the Opposition’s support. There is support for the Bill right across the House—I thank the Minister for her support, too—and I am sure that working together with other Members, we will get it through. I look forward to working with the Minister and I am sure that in getting the Bill through your Lordships’ House, she will keep my feet firmly on the ground and make sure that it does not end up in outer space.

I know we will get compliance because the Government seem determined to do that. I thank everyone again, including the Minister for her co-operation, and I ask the House to give the Bill a Second Reading.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.

International Women’s Day

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 9th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords—and Ladies—first I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Shields, for bringing this really important debate to mark International Women’s Day. We have had, as usual, a great debate over a wide range of subjects relating to women and girls from all around the world, and I thank all noble Baronesses, and all noble Lords, for their contributions.

The global theme for International Women’s Day is “Be Bold for Change”, as many of us today have mentioned. It is about encouraging ground-breaking action to drive the greatest change for women. The United Nations theme for International Women’s Day is “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”. It aims at addressing women’s economic empowerment in the context of globalisation and the ongoing technological revolution.

One of the key challenges for women is their low representation in leadership positions. The World Economic Forum produces an annual gender gap index, which ranks countries by the extent to which women and men have equal opportunities. It includes economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. On this index, the UK is number 20; last year, we were number 18. On the IPU ranking, based on the percentage of women in the lower, elected House of Parliament, the UK is placed 47th; Rwanda is ranked first, with 61.3% women. Can the Minister explain why the UK has dropped down to 20th place? What measures would she suggest to improve our ranking? How we can move further up the IPU rankings?

Where there is good representation of women in elected legislatures, it is usually because special measures have been put in place, such as happened in the devolved institutions. In Wales, in the first elections in 1999, the Labour Party had special measures which meant that a good number of women were elected to good seats, and that has continued. We now have 41.7% of Members of the Welsh Assembly being women. In Scotland, 34.9% of the Members are women.

It is 99 years since women were first allowed to become Members of Parliament. In that time, only 456 women have been elected as MPs, compared with 4,738 men. That makes 8.8% women and 91.2% men. In the House of Commons today, there are 195 women, which is 30%, and 454 men, which is 70%. We are improving, but it is all very slow.

The Commons Women and Equalities Committee report published on 10 January recommends that the Government legislate for a minimum of 45% of candidates from all political parties to be women. If that target is not reached, sanctions should be imposed. Will the Minister do all she can to ensure that happens? It should be enacted if the number and proportion of women MPs fail to increase significantly in the next general election.

Next year, we will mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act that gave women the right to become MPs. I am aware there are already plans in Parliament to mark the occasion. Does the Minister agree that, in the week of International Women’s Day next year, we should have more than just our annual debate? Will the Minister agree to have discussions with me and others to see whether we can agree on a good programme of events to mark this occasion in your Lordships’ House, without of course impinging on what is already being planned? I think we could have a great time next year, marking this great occasion. I have to say that 100 years is a long time to wait for women’s equality. We owe it to future generations of women to take positive action now.

Another thing I want to talk about is gender-based violence. The UN recognises this as direct discrimination against women, perpetrated against them because they are women. Domestic abuse, as a form of violence against women and girls, is internationally recognised as a serious violation of the human rights of women and girls. Eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls is essential for the realisation of fundamental rights, equality and non-discrimination. The British Crime Survey for England and Wales reported that there were over 100,000 prosecutions for domestic abuse in 2015-16, the highest level ever recorded. Where gender was recorded, 92.1% of defendants were male, and 7.9% of defendants were female.

Specialist support services for women, such as refuges, are a lifeline for women and girls escaping domestic violence, but women’s domestic violence services are in crisis. Women’s services have seen their funding shrink rapidly since 2010, and one-third of local authority funding to domestic and sexual violence services was already cut by 2012 and even more since. Can the Minister explain why funding is being cut from these vital services which do so much to help and support women and children at a time when they need it most?

I look forward to the Minister’s response, but before I sit down I would like to congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Vere, on her recent marriage. I am sure that the whole House will join in giving her our best wishes. We wish her and her husband a happy and long life together.

Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Tuesday 28th February 2017 Grand Committee

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

My Lords, these regulations which are being introduced under powers in Section 153 of the Equality Act 2010 replace and amend the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011. Under this power, Ministers can impose specific duties on public authorities to secure the better performance of the public sector equality duty. These regulations replicate the measures from the previous specific duties regulations, namely that public bodies must publish information every year to demonstrate their compliance with the equality duty and set equality objectives every four years.

Tackling the gender pay gap is an absolute priority for this Government. That is why we have used these powers to include new duties for the relevant public authorities, if they have 250 or more employees, to report on their gender pay differences. We have already delivered on our manifesto commitment to introduce mandatory gender pay gap reporting for large employers in the private and voluntary sectors. The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 were approved by both Houses last month and signed by the Secretary of State on 6 February.

Of course, it is only right that public bodies, including government departments, are subject to the same reporting requirements. That is why we announced in October 2015 that we would be extending the manifesto commitment to the public sector. We want government to be a trail-blazer and lead by example. These regulations apply to specified public authorities in England, non-devolved organisations and certain cross-border authorities. Scottish and Welsh public bodies are subject to separate specific duties regulations. The devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales have been consulted on the proposed changes. Both sets of regulations will require the same gender pay gap calculations and use the same methodology for calculating the data.

Public authorities that are subject to these regulations will need to publish the mean and median differences between the average hourly rate of pay for male and female employees. They will need to publish the mean and median differences between the average bonuses paid to male and female employees. They will also need to report on the proportions of men and women who receive bonuses, and the proportions in each quartile of their pay distribution.

All specified public bodies will need to publish their gender pay gap data on a website that is accessible to members of the public. Organisations will also need to upload data to a government-sponsored website, which will allow us to establish a database of compliant employers and closely monitor compliance. We have aligned the reporting timetables and obligations as closely as possible for employers in different sectors to achieve consistency and comparable sets of data. The two sets of regulations will provide unprecedented transparency on gender pay differences in all sectors and create the environment needed to drive change. I beg to move.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, first, I thank the Minister for bringing these regulations before us tonight. We waited seven years for the Government to come forward, but I am very pleased that they have finally introduced mandatory pay audits for large companies in the private and voluntary sectors. It is a shame that it has taken this Government so long to bring into force the measures created by the last Labour Government, but at least now we are taking some steps forward, which is very good. I commend the Government for extending the mandatory pay gap reporting duties to public sector employers, as they promised to do in October 2015. This again is another step forward towards progress.

The regulations discussed today, under Section 153 of the Equality Act, mirror almost exactly the regulations under Section 78, although I have concerns that some of the new duties could have gone further. As with the duties on private and voluntary sector organisations, they apply only to public authorities with 250 employees or more. The maintenance of such a high employee threshold for application of these duties in the public sector was raised as a concern by a significant number of organisations and individuals responding to the Government’s consultation, but the Government have chosen not to set a lower threshold for public bodies.

It is understandable that the Government would want to create comparable data between the public sector and private and voluntary sectors but, clearly, limiting the application to public sector bodies with more than 250 employees will severely limit the number of public authorities caught under this regulation. The Government claim that of course a public authority of any size could choose to adopt mandatory reporting, but to what extent will a voluntary expectation create practice in reality? What communication does the Minister intend to have with all public bodies, regardless of their number of employees, to encourage them to publish their gender pay gap information? Have any indicated to her that they will take this voluntary action? In the consultation response, the Government promised to keep under review setting a lower employee threshold, but failed to give an assurance on a timescale. When will this be reviewed? What evidence will she require to persuade her that the figure of 250 employees is too high a threshold?