Violence Against Women

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Monday 9th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Lord makes a pertinent point. Unfortunately, he is, of course, right that children who see and witness domestic violence also become part of that vicious circle, both as victims and, tragically, at times as perpetrators of such acts. The Government take this matter seriously. I have already alluded to the “This is Abuse” campaign, which aims to prevent teenagers from becoming both victims and perpetrators of abuse and encourage them to consider their view of abuse and the meaning of consent within relationships. We are working on a wider front as well with programmes such as “Hollyoaks” and the MTV music channel to ensure that issues of abuse are highlighted to young people in order to prevent this becoming a vicious circle, as the noble Lord pointed out.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, what progress has been made in addressing the issue of young boys, some as young as 12, being reported for harmful sexual behaviour towards girls in schools? What is being done to educate these young men and boys to treat women with respect and to desist from this behaviour?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I agree with my noble friend that respect for women and girls is something that should be taught to boys from infancy in schools and in every sector of society. The Government have published a national strategy that supports an action plan on tackling violence against women and girls which includes a range of actions to address gender inequalities, such as the Body Confidence campaign. In December last year we launched the teenage relationship abuse campaign, which aims to prevent teenagers becoming the victims and the perpetrators of abuse.