Women: Domestic Violence

Debate between Lord Bishop of Birmingham and Lord Bates

Tuesday 16th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

That is absolutely right. The figures that I have are roughly the same: 1.4 million women and 700,000 men. Clearly, there is a link to people’s economic situation, their educational achievement and their overall environment. That is why we have extended to a further 400,000 families the troubled families programme, which is having a real impact in this area in tackling that type of behaviour.

[The Lord Bishop of Birmingham]

My Lords, domestic violence against women is one of the largest abuses of women, not just in the UK but in the world. I would be interested if the Minister commented on the Government’s commitment to reaching such a diverse range of women, in spite of their ethnic background, religion or location, over the next few years.

[Lord Bates]

Particular groups, some of which are on the national oversight board on domestic violence, chaired by the Home Secretary, are doing a great job in working in BME communities and tackling this issue. One such example is Imkhan. However, this issue is absolutely cross-cutting. It is not predominant in one particular group; it needs to be tackled as a whole. The HMIC report, which all this work is based on, is entitled Everyone’s Business—and that is what it is.