International Women’s Day

Baroness Donaghy Excerpts

Friday 8th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Donaghy (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson of Abinger. Her dedication to international women’s issues is an inspiration to me and, I am sure, to everyone in this Chamber. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Vere, for her presentation—it was very comprehensive—and for initiating this debate.

I had thought, when I heard the most reverend Primate in the foreign affairs debate earlier this week talking about most Anglicans being women in their 30s in sub-Saharan Africa who have $4 per day, that maybe I would have a go at the international aspects of women today. Then I thought, “Hmm, Lady Abinger is speaking, as is Lady Northover, and possibly Lady Amos”—although she did not do what was expected. I thought, “No, steer clear, Donaghy. Stick to the knitting; do what you know best”, so that is what I am going to do.

There is no better way of promoting the economic inclusion of women than ensuring they are safe from harm and supporting them when they are subject to abuse, whether that is violence, economic abuse or coercive control. There is a desperate need to increase funding for specialist domestic abuse services. I am grateful to my friend and mentor, my noble friend Lady Gale, for raising this subject. I strongly support what she said.

Refuges, as I said at Question Time on Monday, are having to turn away the majority of referrals as they do not have the long-term resources to cope. The Home Office flee fund was created to ensure that all survivors who want to flee their homes have access to the resources they need to do so safely. The welcome announcement in February of £2 million, as my noble friend Lady Gale has already said, was spent within a few days. It is a fraction of the actual need, as the Home Office itself accepts that one in four women experiences domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime.

It has already been mentioned that the cost of living crisis has a disproportionate impact on women, but imagine the impact on survivors of domestic abuse. It often forces them to stay within an abusive partnership. Of refuge front-line staff, 77% reported that the cost of living crisis was increasing barriers to leaving. There is a reported increase in coerced debt and fraud, and of survivors’ online accounts and devices being misused by perpetrators to take out debt in their name without their knowledge or consent.

Around 60% of Child Maintenance Service claimants are survivors of domestic abuse. Too often the onus is placed on survivors to chase payment. Some staff have pressurised survivors to put in place direct pay arrangements, which means that perpetrators know victims’ bank details and sometimes their location. The collect and pay system, which is often the safest option for survivors, demands financial charges from both sides, which makes it an expensive option. Are the Government satisfied that staff dealing with the 60% who are survivors of domestic abuse are receiving in-depth ongoing domestic abuse training?

Many will remember why Clare’s law was made in 2014. Some in the Chamber will have taken an active part in creating that legislation. The official name of it is the domestic violence disclosure scheme. It was named after Clare Wood, whose father— sadly, he died in 2020—campaigned for it after her murder by a former partner. Police knew the perpetrator to be dangerous, as he had served three prison sentences for violence and harassment of women. Clare’s family were certain that she would not have entered into a relationship with him had she known about his violent past. The law gives the right to ask and a right to know in certain circumstances. The question is: have things improved since 2014?

Only yesterday, Clare’s daughter Maddy said that she feared more people will be killed because of “poor” handling of the scheme. Some people who asked for a background check on their partner had been waiting for hundreds of days for an answer, when they should have received one within 28 days. The Domestic Abuse Commissioner found the findings of the BBC investigation “seriously concerning”. There were around 45,000 Clare’s law applications made in England and Wales in 2022-23, a rise of 300% in five years.

In addition to the delays, thousands of applications were declined. That might be because there is no information to disclose, but can the Minister say why information that was released dropped from 48% in 2018-19 to 38% in 2022-23? Are the Government satisfied that there is sufficient awareness of Clare’s law? One woman on the news yesterday, who was in a refuge after suffering domestic violence, said that she did not know about this. What conversations are the Government having with police forces to improve the position? Wiltshire Police has accepted a catastrophic service failure after reviewing its performance of assessing claims under Clare’s law.

Finally, I look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, and the reply from the Minister, although I am content with an answer in a letter with the detail I have asked for.