Violence against Women and Girls Strategy

Jen Craft Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jess Phillips]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for, over the year and a bit that he has been here, genuinely bringing forward issues on which he wants to see change. Clare’s law is patchy across the entire country; it is brilliant in some areas. One of the issues we face is the fact that there are 43 police forces. If he is talking about a specific legislative change, I would be more than happy to hear about it. However, we are funding the national policing centre for violence against women and girls, and seeking for it to do specific work on Clare’s law—the domestic violence disclosure scheme system—in order to improve experiences. I have received ministerial letters from across the House about failures on Clare’s law, so this is definitely an area that vastly needs improving.

[Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)]

I look forward to seeing the strategy in full on Thursday. In advance, I hope the Minister is able to give some assurances that the often overlooked issue of child sexual abuse in the home and in the family will be included in the strategy and addressed. As she is well aware, for many women who are victims of rape and sexual violence, a criminal justice outcome is not always the desired outcome, so will cross-Government working be involved to ensure that, for example, the Department of Health and Social Care ensures that rape and sexual violence services are properly commissioned?