Domestic Abuse: Victims and Survivors

Baroness Laing of Elderslie Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Laing of Elderslie (Con)]

My Lords, it is customary to thank the noble Baroness who has secured a debate for having done so, but in this case I—and, I believe, the whole of your Lordships’ House—genuinely thank the noble Baroness, Lady Chisholm, for having secured the debate today.

Surely the problem that we are facing here is not that Governments, for the last two decades, have ignored domestic abuse, and it is not that the police, the courts or Cafcass have ignored it; it is that all the efforts that have been made have not improved the situation, because what we really need is a change in attitude in society. As the noble Baroness, Lady May, rightly said earlier—I commend her for all the work that she did on this subject, particularly when she was Home Secretary—getting employers involved is terribly important.

We are all awfully polite in Britain. We say, “Oh, there might be something wrong, but it’s none of my business”. That is the change of attitude that we need. We need to have a change of society’s attitude so that we say, “I recognise that this person”—usually a woman, but sometimes a man—“is in some kind of difficulty”. So rather than saying, “It’s none of my business”, let us all see what we can do to improve matters.

We have come a long way in getting the police to recognise how important this hidden crime is, but it is still terribly difficult, especially in cases of coercive control, which is a very hidden crime. Where there is violent behaviour, there is often evidence—bruises, illness and other obvious problems—but, with coercive control, none of those is present: and certainly not if everyone turns their back and says, “It is none of my business”. Because it is all of our business and I only wish that the media would report this debate, and all the excellent points that have been made in it, in the way they take up columns in the newspapers and time on news bulletins talking about the trivia of celebrities and their relationships. Let us look at the relationships of real people throughout this country who need the help of the whole of society.

I ask the Minister: will the Government consider the definition of domestic abuse, which includes the age limit of 16? We have all been shocked by what happened to Sara Sharif. Because she was under 16, it does not mean that it was not domestic abuse.