Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what resources they dedicate to the protection of boys and men from violence.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises that men and boys experience abusive and violent crimes, such as stalking, domestic abuse, and sexual violence, and we are committed to ensuring that male victims and survivors get the support that they need. The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice fund organisations such as Respect, Galop, SignHealth, and Hourglass, which provide essential support to male victims. This includes the Men’s Advice Line, run by Respect, which offers vital support to male victims of domestic abuse.
Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 11 June, we are continuing to work through the details of government funding for tackling VAWG over the 2026–2029 Spending Review period.
We are working tirelessly across government to deliver the VAWG Strategy. It is vital that we get this right, and we are committed to publishing the Strategy as soon as possible.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to create a strategy for tackling violence against boys and men.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises that men and boys experience abusive and violent crimes, such as stalking, domestic abuse, and sexual violence, and we are committed to ensuring that male victims and survivors get the support that they need. The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice fund organisations such as Respect, Galop, SignHealth, and Hourglass, which provide essential support to male victims. This includes the Men’s Advice Line, run by Respect, which offers vital support to male victims of domestic abuse.
Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 11 June, we are continuing to work through the details of government funding for tackling VAWG over the 2026–2029 Spending Review period.
We are working tirelessly across government to deliver the VAWG Strategy. It is vital that we get this right, and we are committed to publishing the Strategy as soon as possible.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to promote recognition of, and publicise information about, the need to care equally for all children subject to violence.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Keeping children safe is a top priority for this government. Nothing is more important that safeguarding children and promoting their welfare.
Alongside the Home Office, the department is tackling the problems that cause children to need help and protection and delivering better and safer outcomes through the government’s Opportunity and Safer Streets missions. As part of this, we will be publishing our government response to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report on child victims of domestic abuse and our cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy this autumn.
Our Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and reforms across education and children’s services, will further protect children at risk of violence and neglect, stopping vulnerable children falling through cracks in services.
Underpinning this, our multi-agency statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ and ‘Keeping children safe in education’ set out duties to safeguard all children subject to violence, no matter what challenges they face.
The government’s approach to preventing violence spans family, education and community. We are working closely with the Youth Endowment Fund to promote recognition of and publicise best practice in violence prevention for children and young people.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what resources they dedicate to the implementation of the strategy to address violence against women and girls.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The scale of violence against women and girls in our country is intolerable and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is.
The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy will set out the Government’s strategic direction and the concrete actions required to deliver on our ambition to halve VAWG within a decade. This has been underpinned by a robust analytical sprint and a Theory of Change, ensuring our approach is grounded in the best available evidence.
The Strategy recognises the need for a whole-system approach to tackling VAWG. We have worked collaboratively across government departments to develop policies that support this ambition and drive meaningful change.
Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 11 June, we are continuing to work through the details of government funding for tackling VAWG over the 2026–2029 Spending Review period.
We are working tirelessly across government to deliver the VAWG Strategy. It is vital that we get this right, and we are committed to publishing the Strategy as soon as possible.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the government of India on the death in custody of Father Stan Swamy SJ, and the continued imprisonment of those allegedly involved in the Bhima Koregaon violence.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
His Majesty's Government extends condolences, first and foremost, to those who knew and worked closely with Fr. Swamy at Jesuit Missions.
Jesuit Missions' work, partnering with organisations to empower local communities and to build a more just and sustainable future, is admirable.
The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously. However, given this is an internal Indian legal matter, the ability of the UK Government to get involved directly on these matters is significantly limited.
The UK Government has a broad, deep and respectful partnership with the Government of India. This includes sharing perspectives on human rights issues and finding common ground.
Our High Commission in New Delhi and our network across India monitor human rights across the country. We engage Indian stakeholders on a range of human rights matters, working with Union and State Governments, and with civil society.
This includes raising issues of concern where we have them.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to bring a case against Iran before the International Court of Justice for crimes against the people of Iran.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are not currently bringing a case against Iran at the International Court of Justice relating to its human rights record. We continue to engage international partners on the best approach for holding Iran accountable for its continued violations; we were instrumental in delivering the Iran resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, which spotlighted and condemned Iran's repression of fundamental rights, including in relation to the death penalty, women and girls, and religious and ethnic minorities. We continue to support the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, which is essential for investigating alleged crimes by the Islamic Republic against protesters during nationwide protests in 2022-23, and we look forward to its next report in March 2025.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Iran to desist from human rights abuses in that country.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We continue to take significant action in multilateral fora to urge the Islamic Republic to cease its human rights violations, including at the UN Human Rights Council and UN Third Committee. We were instrumental in delivering the Iran Resolution, adopted by the Third Committee in November 2024, which spotlighted and condemned Iran's continued violations, including in relation to the death penalty, women and girls, and religious and ethnic minorities. In January 2025, the Foreign Secretary raised human rights directly with his Iranian counterpart. We will continue to raise rights issues directly with the regime, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to co-ordinate international efforts to secure the release of human rights defenders in prisons in Iran.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK was instrumental in delivering the Iran Human Rights Resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, which called on Iran to immediately and unconditionally release persons arbitrarily detained for the exercise of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including human rights defenders. In September 2024, we issued a joint statement alongside international partners, which underlined our commitment to human rights defenders in Iran fighting for fundamental freedoms. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its repression of human rights defenders.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Iran concerning ending executions in that country.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We have repeatedly called on the Iranian government to establish a moratorium on executions, including at the UN Human Rights Council and UN Third Committee last year. We are committed to working with international partners to hold Iran accountable for its egregious use of the death penalty.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are planning to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under close review, as we seek to protect the UK from the threats that we face. However, we will not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.
Iran's malign activities, including the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The UK already maintains sanctions on over 450 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation, malign influence internationally and state threats, including sanctioning the IRGC in its entirety. The Government will continue to consider what further steps may be taken to deter Iran's malign activity.
The National Security Act 2023 provides another significant toolkit in the fight against individuals working for state entities like the IRGC. The UK is now a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, including espionage, interference in our political system, sabotage, and assassination.