Domestic Abuse: Victims and Survivors

Baroness Meacher Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gohir (CB)]

I, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Chisholm, for securing this debate. I declare my interest as CEO of Muslim Women’s Network UK. I shall focus on four points: funding, domestic homicide rates among minority ethnic women, spiritual abuse, and transnational abandonment.

No funding was pledged to tackle domestic abuse in the last Budget, which was surprising given Labour’s manifesto commitment to reduce violence against women and girls by 50%. The current funding crisis and the rise in employer national insurance will result in many women’s organisations scaling back their services, taking away vital support for domestic abuse victims. Can the Minister provide assurance that the next Budget will announce funding to tackle domestic abuse?

Domestic homicide rates for minority ethnic women are around 22% higher. This issue can be addressed only if we know why it is happening. Will the Government agree to carry out a public consultation exercise to find out what the contributing factors are to the higher rates? This will help to save lives.

Spiritual abuse is not legally defined and is not limited to abuse by faith leaders. It is also a form of domestic abuse, where families and partners may misuse religion to control and manipulate women and children in particular. A legal definition could help to better recognise this form of abuse and hold perpetrators to account. Will the Government consider having a legal definition of spiritual abuse? Will the Minister write to me about the number of spiritual abuse cases recorded by the police in the last five years?

Transnational abandonment is another form of domestic abuse. This is when—usually—a husband takes his wife abroad on the pretence of a holiday and leaves her there, sometimes with children. The wife is usually on a spousal visa waiting for indefinite leave to remain. Helplines such as the one that I run are then left to apply for documents and pay for flights to get the women and children back into the UK. In the first six months of 2024, there were 28 transnational abandonment cases.

Being abandoned in this way is traumatising. It is time to make this a specific criminal offence. Perpetrators need to be held accountable for treating women as though they are property that can be discarded in this way. Recently in Australia, a man who had deceived his wife into leaving the country left her in Sudan. He was then convicted of exit trafficking and sentenced to more than four years in prison. It is time for perpetrators of this type of domestic abuse to also be convicted in the UK. Will the Government consider a law change here?

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, may I make a brief intervention to suggest that it is not always men abusing women? I am very familiar with women who control the behaviour and lives of their spouses, over many years, with threats that often involve children.