Victims and Courts Bill

Jas Athwal Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

Ilford South has been collectively traumatised by sexual violence and domestic abuse. Together, we have mourned the murders of Harshita Brella and Zara Aleena. Together, we are horrified at the cases of physical and sexual violence that women and girls face every day, many of which go unreported. That is why the Victims and Courts Bill before us today is so desperately needed, because it promises to help us bring justice and empower victim-survivors.

I thank all those who have made the Bill possible, especially the victim-survivors whose voices gave it power and made it real. Although their work has been indispensable, I know that it must never fall on the shoulders of survivors alone to drive policy change. We must all come together to share the burden of fixing the violence that is so deeply embedded in our society. That is why I feel it is so incumbent on me as a male Member to engage with this Bill and see it through. Sexual violence and domestic abuse are men’s issues as much as they are women’s issues.

If I may speak candidly, my conversations with survivors in my work as London Councils’ lead on community safety and violence against women and girls have taught me that victim-survivors are often doubly traumatised—they are first traumatised by the experience of their abuse, then retraumatised by a justice system that is opaque, difficult to navigate and, quite frankly, not built for them.

[Sir John Hayes]

There is a third trauma when a sentence that emanates from the court is unduly lenient. As the hon. Gentleman will know, the Attorney General has the power to review unduly lenient sentences, but only within 28 days of the date of a sentence. Will the hon. Gentleman join me in calling for the length of time to be extended, in the name of victims?

[Jas Athwal]

Certainly, as somebody who stands for justice, I will always support anything that would make it stronger.

I welcome this Bill as a start to addressing the injustice that survivors face and a vital step in achieving our plan to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Through the updated victim contact scheme and the new victim helpline, this Bill simplifies one aspect of the justice system that survivors must navigate. This single, harmonised scheme means that victim-survivors will have a clear route to requesting information about an offender’s release, should they want it, empowering those survivors.

Another welcome aspect of the Bill is the automatic restriction of parental responsibility for perpetrators of child sexual offences. Sexual violence against children is particularly vile and traumatising for families and survivors alike, with survivors taking an average of 22 years before they feel able to disclose their abuse. This Bill will prevent perpetrators from involvement in a child’s life, safeguarding children from further trauma and enabling them to start healing.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

The hon. Member is talking about the length of time it can take for victims of sexual violence to get over their trauma and seek help. Does he agree that organisations such as Rape Crisis do absolutely vital work in helping survivors of sexual abuse and rape to move past what has happened? Does he also agree that it would be a fantastic improvement to the Bill if there was some national Government oversight of how much money is put into funding such victim services?

[Jas Athwal]

Certainly, coming from a local council that is strapped for cash, I agree with the hon. Member’s emphasis; we must look at that as we go forward.

The Bill will prevent perpetrators from being involved in a child’s life, safeguarding children from further trauma and enabling them to start healing. This new restriction is shamefully overdue. Our current system is not built for survivors; it is full of gaps and loopholes for predators, reflects society’s biases and is perilously hard to navigate. To truly centre survivors, the Bill should go further. The automatic restriction of parental responsibility should be extended so that if an individual abuses any child, not just their own, their parental rights are automatically removed. That would further safeguard children, saving families the vast personal and emotional cost of navigating the family court system and ultimately preventing the retraumatisation of survivors and their families.

I welcome the Government’s actions to begin building a justice system that finally centres survivors, rather than treating them like an afterthought, and I hope this Bill will empower those who have not been properly protected for so long. However, as we know, there is still so much further to go and so many more battles remain to be fought in order to prevent sexual violence and empower victim-survivors—online, in our schools, in our homes and on our streets. This Bill is a desperately needed first step, but it must be the beginning of our campaign to get justice for victim-survivors, not the end.

Courts and Tribunals: Sitting Days

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

We are speeding up the planning process. The courts Minister is in regular conversation with the planning Minister. The issue of Crown court capacity is less one of planning and more about funding enough days so that maximum use can be made of every available courtroom, while recognising that there has to be some level of give in the system of courtroom usage to enable it to be run efficiently. Demand ebbs and flows at every court across the whole country, so some spare capacity needs to be maintained, and it was that spare capacity that enabled such a swift response to the summer riots. I hope the hon. Member will reflect on the fact that some spare capacity will always be required, but as I say, those conversations are happening regularly between the courts Minister and the planning Minister.

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

I thank the Lord Chancellor for her statement and for the record funding. It is just a shame that the shadow Justice Secretary, bereft of any policy ideas, has basically turned up today to tackle the man—or in this case the woman—rather than play the ball. A little humility, contrition and a wholesome apology would not go amiss. Does the Lord Chancellor agree that, in allowing the backlog to spiral out of control, the previous Government failed countless victims? Will she confirm that today’s announcement means victims can have more confidence in the justice system under Labour?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I am very happy to fight the shadow Lord Chancellor—woman to man—any time he likes. Conservative Members should own up to the failure of the previous Administration and apologise—if they want a hearing from anybody in politics or, indeed, from the people in the country ever again. This Government have shown that we are determined to clean up the mess we inherited, and victims across the country can take confidence from the fact that we have made record funding available and we are considering the structural reform required to sort out the system.