Oral Answers to Questions

Jessica Toale Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra]

My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. He is absolutely right that this hate and abuse must also be tackled online; that is why the Online Safety Act 2023 has robust provisions to protect people from online abuse. We have ended the era of self-regulation, and are enforcing strict legal duties that compel platforms to design out racial hatred and protect users. It is vital that this work continues, and that we step up active enforcement programmes that have been under way since March last year.

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

3. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

[Mr Connor Rand (Altrincham and Sale West) (Lab)]

9. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Catherine Atkinson)]

We have made the landmark commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, and we have begun delivering already; providing domestic abuse specialists in 999 call centres, specialist rape and sexual offence investigation units in our police forces, and £16 million for programmes in schools on healthy relationships and tackling harmful behaviour. Our ambition is clear, but there is much more work to do.

[Jessica Toale]

The most dangerous place for a woman is often her own home. That is in part why I have introduced a private Member’s Bill to extend domestic abuse protections to children and young people who may be in abusive relationships. What more are this Government doing to tackle the scourge of domestic violence?

[Catherine Atkinson]

My hon. Friend is right: far too often, the least safe place for a woman is her own home. Children who witness or experience abuse in their home are victims in their own right. This Government are determined to tackle domestic abuse; we are putting domestic abuse specialists in 999 call centres, prosecutions are rising, and domestic abuse protection orders can provide unlimited-duration protection, and are already protecting more than 1,000 victims. I welcome my hon. Friend’s commitment to legislating to protect children and young people who are caught in abusive relationships, and I look forward to working with her on her private Member’s Bill.