Preventing Violence Against Women: Role of Men

Angela Crawley Excerpts

Thursday 4th February 2016 Westminster Hall

[Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I congratulate the Members on bringing forward this important debate, which is the first of its kind, from the Backbench Business Committee. Considering the number of years this place has been dominated by men, it is refreshing that the debate was led by a man. None the less, the fact that domestic violence continues to occur both here and internationally highlights that Governments of all nations must make a strong statement.

The white ribbon campaign is a prime opportunity to give men that voice and allow those such as my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands) and the hon. Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy) to have their say. It will take positive male role models such as Members of Parliament, sportsmen, celebrities and other high-profile figures in public life to condemn violence against women and girls and make a strong statement about what men’s role is in preventing and eradicating violence against women.

This conversation is not new. For years women have been speaking out loudly, and feminists have been condemned as outspoken, radical and extremist simply for saying something that should be common sense to all of us: violence against women and girls should not and cannot be tolerated. Men and boys need to take an active role on their contribution to violence, but we also have to accept that it goes the other way. Many Members have mentioned that there are occasions—they are few—where women are the perpetrators of violence, so it is about educating girls and boys, and men and women about their role and their relationships with one another, because as we have heard this is not a women’s issue; it is a human rights issue. I am glad that this debate is happening today.

The first priority is to ensure that our educators and local figures are making that strong statement condemning violence in all forms. One of the most alarming statistics I have read has been touched on but not covered. The title of the report published by Women’s Aid this year is “Nineteen Child Homicides”, which brings home the wide range and impact that domestic violence can have on women and girls and children. Violence does not happen just to women; it affects fathers, husbands, sons and brothers. In fact, perhaps no member of a family is untouched by violence, and that is why it will take all voices across the community to advocate the removal of violence in all forms.

We have heard a lot about different laws and policies as well as the law of unintended consequences of some of the policies that are affecting women’s lives, which needs some acknowledgment from the Government. While much of the debate has centred around heterosexual relationships, statistics show that there is the exact same level of violence in same-sex relationships. Broken Rainbow has sought to highlight in its campaign that domestic violence is not unique to one relationship. It happens across all relationships and across all genders and sexualities.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North and the hon. Members for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips) and for Brigg and Goole for securing the debate and highlighting this truly important issue. I hope that we will go some way towards eradicating violence.

Counter-terrorism

Angela Crawley Excerpts

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

My right hon. and learned Friend is right about the importance of the exit checks that have been introduced. He asks about notification in relation to when the surrender of a passport is requested. Passports will be surrendered under different powers and in different circumstances so the whole process will be carried out on a case-by-case basis. For example, when a royal prerogative is being exercised a different process will potentially be used from when a police bail decision has been undertaken. In the latter case, it is up to the police to determine the speed with which it is necessary to remove the passport.

[Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)]

The contents of this video are utterly abhorrent, and we hope that appropriate measures are taken to clarify the identity of this individual as swiftly and accurately as possible. A reasoned and proportionate response to this threat is essential. The Scottish National party is committed to supporting all efforts to counter terrorism and to working to safeguard the lives of citizens of this country. If someone has a passport removed as a condition of their bail, are additional options open to a judge to prevent that person from fleeing the country? What more could have been done or can be done in similar circumstances?

[Mrs May]

I thank the hon. Lady for her comments about the video, echoing the remarks that both I and the shadow Home Secretary made about the appalling and barbaric nature of not only the video, but the organisation of Daesh. She referred to bail that has been ordered by a judge, but of course bail will often be ordered by the police. If someone has not been charged with an offence, the police will determine their bail to return on a particular date and the conditions applied to that bail. As I have indicated, there are a number of processes whereby other measures can be taken. For example, if the police determine at the port, under the new powers that we have introduced, that somebody’s passport should be temporarily removed for further investigation, that can lead to its permanent removal through a royal prerogative being exercised or to other action being taken. The exercise of a terrorism prevention and investigation measure—a TPIM—can also contain measures aimed at preventing an individual from travelling. All of these decisions as to which powers should be exercised are taken on a case-by-case basis.

Female Genital Mutilation

Angela Crawley Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2015 General Committees

[Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Evans. This is the first such Committee that I have sat on, so please bear with me. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Rotherham and the hon. Member for Luton North. The hon. Member for Rotherham has worked vociferously for an agreement on tackling FGM, and it was great to hear a male Member passionately making the case against FGM. That is absolutely vital.

In London in 2013 two arrests were reported over the genital mutilation of a five or six-week-old baby girl—the youngest case reported. The two people arrested lived in Britain. The practice is not only abhorrent and immoral, but illegal, yet no one was convicted for the harm done to that child due to a lack of firm evidence. This case exposes how such harmful practice can slip through the nets of justice. FGM has been illegal in the UK for 30 years, and since 2003 anyone taking a child out of the UK to be cut faces 14 years in prison.

However, for both pieces of legislation there is yet to be a single conviction, as we have heard today. We are thus faced with the problem common to gender-based violence: a disconnect between the default political response of creating legislation to correct a problem and the practical steps needed to change the culture surrounding that problem. I therefore welcome the comments that have been made about legislation not being the only way to tackle this problem.

Every year, millions of women and girls worldwide have their quality of life drastically altered by FGM. More than 125 million women and girls are affected today, predominantly in pockets of the middle east, across central Africa and in south Asia. New research by City University London and Equality Now found that cases of FGM are on the rise in the UK. Between July and September last year health professionals uncovered 1,385 new cases of FGM, with 17 of those involving girls under the age of 18. Over half of the new cases recorded were in London, with women of Somali origin found to be the most likely to be affected. This is not a small-scale problem. The FGM programme manager at Equality Now, Mary Wandia, said that the figures shown are

“only the tip of the iceberg”.

She also said:

“Cases of FGM are likely to exist in every single local authority in England and Wales”.

I am sure that cases also exist throughout much of Scotland and other parts of the UK.

Even after 30 years of illegality, there is still a lack of medical and psychological support available to survivors. What we see is therefore a culture of woeful ignorance on the part of lawmakers, although I am not sure that is the case when I listen to hon. Members in this room. However, we know that this practice is going on, and we have to acknowledge it with legislation and with action. As the figures continue to increase, however, it is fair to say that further action is needed.

An international day of zero tolerance of FGM was held on 6 February 2014. The Government made it clear that no one in the UK was exempt from UK law. The Home Office was awarded £250,000 of funding from the European Commission to promote the national NSPCC FGM helpline, and to provide training for front-line professionals and support community engagement activity on ending FGM. Those measures go some way towards changing attitudes and beliefs among the relevant communities, towards making practitioners aware that what they are doing is wrong, and towards making sure that women realise that FGM is in fact a crime. The underlying causes of FGM include a mix of cultural, religious and social factors within families and communities—factors that are not wholly contrary to UK law and culture but that amount to a serious violation of human rights.

We recognise that FGM has a drastic impact on a woman’s body. As a deep-rooted social norm, it relates to the social culture of women’s sexuality and is practised in the belief that it is beneficial for a girl and that it preserves cultural identity in the context of migration. What must be addressed first and foremost is that any perceived benefits are massively outweighed by the horror and trauma for the victim, severe pain and bleeding, difficulty in passing urine, infections and death due to haemorrhage or neurogenic shock. The practice often leaves girls with long-term scars, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, HIV infection, cysts, abscesses and genital ulcers. There are increased risks of complications affecting the menstrual cycle, sometimes resulting in infertility.

Contrary to both the 1985 and 2003 legislation, UK-born girls are being taken abroad for what is culturally known as the “cutting season” of the summer holidays, but girls are being cut here, too. On the elimination of FGM, there is a positive trend towards abandoning the practice in the 28 countries that are most affected. Worldwide, 42 countries have passed laws condemning FGM, most recently Nigeria, which banned FGM in May 2015. Yet, according to the Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development—FORWARD—in countries such as Sudan, Somalia and Egypt, up to 98% of females have been mutilated.

Research by the Scottish Refugee Council shows that in 2011 there were 23,979 people—men, women and children combined—in Scotland who had been born in one of the 29 countries identified by UNICEF as FGM practising countries. The largest community in Scotland potentially affected by FGM is the Nigerian community; that group amounts to 9,458 people. The number of people now living in Scotland who have been exposed to this culture presents a significantly increased challenge in addressing FGM. Since 2001, Scotland’s African population has doubled from 22,049 to 46,742, and in that time the cost of air travel to Africa has increased. Combined, according to Glasgow-based charity Roshni, those factors have led to an increase in the number of FGM incidents taking place on Scottish soil.

FGM is considered an outside issue, according to Dignity Alert & Research Forum in Edinburgh, but it is not; it is happening here in the UK, and it is very common. The public perception, however, is that it is not. Rather, it is very difficult for women to speak out about their experiences. In Scotland, after recent hospital figures revealed that more than 2,500 FGM victims had given birth in Scottish hospitals, politicians commissioned a Scotland-wide survey into its prevalence. The survey resulted in £222,000 being invested in a range of interventions, with priority areas including community engagement, development projects, awareness raising, training and support services. I raise that point not to preach but simply to share best practice.

Police Scotland officers based in Scottish airports have provided information on FGM to passengers, airline staff and airport workers since July 2015. As mentioned earlier, the school holidays are a prevalent time for FGM. The campaign’s timing was important, and it also included advertising against FGM in airport buildings. Last year, 19 incidents of FGM were reported to Police Scotland, up from 16 the previous year, which is evidence that this form of advertising is working.

The legal consequences of involvement in FGM are heavy. Long sentences act as a deterrent in both pieces of legislation. However, legislation alone does not work as a be-all and end-all solution. We must continue to spread awareness of FGM and not lose sight of the fact that it is a massive breach of women’s human rights. The advertising and educational initiatives of the Home Office and the Scottish Government have gone some way towards halting the spread of FGM. We must now break down the taboos of FGM in the most affected communities, if we are to eradicate this horrible practice in the UK. I welcome a co-ordinated response; together we will go some way towards stopping FGM globally.

Oral Answers to Questions

Angela Crawley Excerpts

Monday 16th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)]

7. What steps she plans to take to reduce the level of violent crime.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Karen Bradley)]

According to the crime survey for England and Wales, violent crime is 27% lower than in June 2010. We are taking effective action, including our ongoing action to tackle gang and youth violence, and our work to end violence against women and girls.

[Angela Crawley]

The Minister will be aware that the violence reduction unit in Scotland has taken an innovative approach to tackling violence by working with dentists, hairdressers, vets and others to identify domestic abuse. It has also successfully carried out work among gangs on promoting positive alternatives. What lessons can her Department learn from the success of Scotland’s violence reduction unit in its first 10 years of existence to reduce the level of crime?

[Karen Bradley]

We of course look at what is happening across the whole United Kingdom and work with the devolved authorities and others to ensure that we are using the very best practice.

Immigration Bill

Angela Crawley Excerpts

Tuesday 13th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)]

I rise to urge Members across the Chamber to reject giving the Immigration Bill a Second Reading. The reason for that is simple: this is one of the most draconian Bills proposed by this Government to date. If this Bill is allowed to pass, it will close off support currently available to failed asylum seekers. If this Bill is brought into law, it will place additional costs on local authorities at a time when they are already spending billions of pounds on children in need of care. It will push those suffering the brunt of the cuts dictated by this Government’s failing austerity agenda further into poverty. The proposal will undoubtedly increase poverty among asylum seekers and their children, which to any reasonable person is already unacceptably high.

According to The Children’s Society, support for children seeking protection in the UK can be as little as half that received through the mainstream benefits system. In some cases, children and families would need nearly three times more than they currently receive in order to be pulled out of poverty. Many families are not even able to pay for the basics, including clothing, powdered milk and nappies for their babies. Rates of support for asylum seekers mean that children are living in severe poverty on less than 40% of average incomes. This is an abhorrent situation to place any family in. Are the Government really trying to make the situation worse?

The proposals put forward by the Secretary of State will compel more asylum seekers into unregulated employment to survive, fuelling exploitation and the undercutting of their rights. The Migrants Rights Network said that these changes will

“encourage discrimination against minorities whether British Citizens or migrants…This can only increase social ills, wage theft and abuse, and divide communities.”

The SNP believes that asylum seekers should be allowed to work so that they are able to provide for themselves and their families adequately. We believe they should be able to work so that they are able to make a contribution to the country they call home.

Only last week I and the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Mims Davies) attended a Women and Equalities Committee visit to Oldham, Manchester and Birmingham. There we listened to the experiences of a mother whose daughter, now 21, has spent 13 years in the asylum system. Her daughter, now a masters graduate, is unable to gain employment; her mother has for over 20 years been unable to support her family.

This is the reality for many families across this country. These proposals will create a criminal offence which could lead to a 12-month prison sentence with an unlimited fine for anyone found working without the right papers. That is unacceptable. It is grossly disproportionate to harm any migrants in vulnerable situations who may be considered to have been at the mercy of a system that does not work for them. The threat of loss of earnings and incarceration is likely to make them even more unwilling to come forward. In effect, the proposed legislation means greater security for exploitative bosses, leaving migrants feeling powerless to raise a complaint.

I urge the House to vote against the Bill.