Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 3 February (HL12365), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what assessment they have made of the change in rates of sexual abuse by women reported to police; and what assessment they have made of the impact of police recording suspects' self-identified gender on the number of cases of sexual abuse being recorded as committed by women.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As set out in my response, information on sexual abuse committed by transgender women is not held centrally. Information on trends in sexual offences recorded by the police is routinely published by the Office for National Statistics. The most recent publication, is available here; https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2020.
The Office for National Statistics had made it clear that sexual offences recorded by the police do not provide a reliable measure of trends in these types of crime. Sexual offences, including examples of sexual abuse, are underreported and therefore cannot be used to accurately assess changes in perpetrator demographics.
The Government takes all forms of sexual abuse extremely seriously, regardless of between who it takes place or the profile of the perpetrator. Whether it is committed by a woman or a man, sexual abuse in any situation, is unacceptable.
We are taking action to improve outcomes for rape cases through our end-to-end review of the criminal justice response to rape, which commenced in Spring 2019. The review covers from the point of police report through to final outcome in court.
We are committed to ensuring victims receive the support they deserve - the Ministry of Justice has awarded £12 million to 91 rape support centres across England and Wales in 2020/21 to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence. This represents a total investment of £32m over the last three years.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to amend Home Office guidance "so that only enrolled deed polls (through the Royal Courts of Justice) are accepted as a proof of name change", as set out in their response, dated 24 November 2020, to the petition Revoke the right of registered sex offenders to change their name by deed poll; and what assessment they have made of the impact the consequent publication of old names, new names and addresses will have on those who (1) have changed their names to avoid danger, and (2) may be in danger as a result of such publication.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders. These include the notification requirements, which require registered sex offenders to notify their personal details, including their name and address, to the police. They must do this annually and whenever their details change. Failure to do so constitutes a breach which is punishable by up to 5 years’ imprisonment.
Home Office Ministers have written to the Master of Rolls and the Royal Courts of Justice requesting that a Judicial Working Group should consider criminality in regard to the enrolled deed poll process. Once the Judicial Working Group has completed its work, we will consider whether it is necessary to amend our existing Home Office guidance to better protect the public.
Should a change be made to the guidance, in the course of making the change we will take careful consideration of any potential impacts, including in relation to the protection of the people who have changed their name to avoid danger.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the change in rates of sexual abuse by women reported to police, and (2) the impact of reports of sexual abuse committed by transgender women in contributing to any such change; and what plans they have, if any, to undertake further research into these issues.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Information on trends in sexual offences recorded by the police is routinely published by the Office for National Statistics. The most recent publication, Crime in England and Wales: Year ending June 2020, is available here:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingjune2020
Figures for the year ending December 2020 are due to be published on the 3 February. Information on sexual abuse committed by transgender women is not held centrally.
We know that sexual abuse disproportionately affects women and girls. We are currently running a Call for Evidence which is available on GOV.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/violence-against-women-and-girls-vawg-call-for-evidence ) and will help inform our forthcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, due for publication this Spring.