Violence Against Women

Lord Bates Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2013 Grand Committee

[Lord Bates (Con)]

My Lords, I join all noble Lords in paying tribute to the noble Baroness, Lady Gould, for securing this debate and for the way in which she introduced it. I will preface my remarks by making two points. The first is to pay tribute to her and other Members who have spoken today, particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, and my noble friend Lady Hodgson, for the tremendous work that they have done in this field to bring light to a subject that has often been swept under the carpet. The declaration, now on the international agenda, that violence against women and girls is no longer acceptable is surely something that we want to hear.

Secondly, contributions to the debate have been helpful in crystallising matters. We heard the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, refer to Colombia and Latin America and the noble Lord, Lord Hussain, talk about India and Kashmir. We heard my noble friend Lady Hodgson and the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, talk about Africa and the Middle East. The noble Lord, Lord Collins, spoke about Bosnia. This reminds us that this is not something that is restricted to a particular place or geography. It is endemic in warfare and needs to be tackled with the utmost severity. In response, finally, to the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, who understands well the briefings that one might receive ahead of debates like this, I can say that there will be no complacency. Of course we will seek to inform Members about what the Government are doing, but in no way are we saying that it is enough: it is simply the start of taking action in this important area.

The Government have put women and girls at the heart of their international development work. Our vision is set out in our strategy on delaying first pregnancy, support for safe childbirth and preventing violence against women and girls. We recognise that such violence is widespread, highly prevalent and has devastating consequences. It has been hidden and accepted for far too long. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development has made it clear that tackling violence against women and girls is a central part of the UK’s development policy. My honourable friend Lynne Featherstone continues her active efforts to be a champion for combating violence against women. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary, as a number of noble Lords and noble Baronesses have mentioned, has made prevention of sexual violence in conflict-affected countries a priority.

Violence affects about one-third of women and girls in the course of their lifetime. Preventing violence against women is a development goal in its own right and is a key to achieving other development outcomes, including educational attainment, maternal health and economic activity. The impact of violence and rape does so much to erode and destroy those in the human lives concerned. Evidence shows that in emergency situations, including times of conflict, the risk of violence to women and girls is exacerbated. Existing social structures and networks that can protect women are often weakened or destroyed. Inadequate facilities and limited resources reduce women’s options and increase the risk of economic and sexual exploitation. The violence perpetrated is not always sexual violence—evidence shows that in times of conflict, the incidence of domestic violence also increases. The use of sexual violence against women and girls in wartime is well documented. It is used for many reasons: to inflict injury, to degrade, to intimidate and to force a population to flee. Estimates of the scale of violence against women and girls during conflicts in the 1990s demonstrate large-scale targeted abuses, which have been placed on record here this afternoon.

The consequences of violence against women and girls in conflict situations are stark. Sexual violence causes physical and psychological damage to thousands of women and girls, and in the worst cases results in the loss of life. Some survivors will be faced with an unwanted pregnancy, and the choices they face are often limited and harsh. They risk death from an unsafe abortion or face social exclusion and destitution. Every year, 47,000 women and girls die as a result of unsafe abortions and millions more are permanently injured. Improving access to safe abortion is challenging, and I am proud that the UK is one of only a handful of donors willing to take on the challenge. Given the scale of the problem, it is important that the international community works to ensure that the needs of women and girls are prioritised and that action is taken to protect and support women and girls affected by violence in conflict zones.

I am pleased to reassure noble Lords that the Government have been leading the international community in addressing the challenges of violence against women and girls in conflict situations. Just last month, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development hosted Keep Her Safe, a high-level event attended by senior representatives from the Government, the UN, NGOs and civil society. The point has been made from across the humanitarian system, and that will continue in future meetings. They agreed a fundamental new approach to protecting girls and women in emergency situations. They recognised the need for comprehensive services for sexual reproductive health, psychological health and mental health for women and girls affected by crisis. The event secured £40 million in pledges from the international community to support this work in emergencies. We will track the progress of these commitments, working very closely with the US, which takes the lead on this initiative in 2014.

In another major step, the Foreign Secretary launched the preventing sexual violence initiative in May 2012. It aims to address the culture of impunity by increasing the number of perpetrators brought to justice both internationally and nationally, strengthening international efforts and co-operation, and supporting states to build their national capacity to deliver justice and services. In April this year, G8 Foreign Ministers adopted a historic declaration on preventing sexual violence which committed countries to use all measures—political, practical and legal—to ensure that there are no safe havens for the perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict. Last week, the Foreign Secretary announced that he would co-chair an international summit in the UK which would aim to take further the commitments already made.

In the remaining time, I will address as many of the questions raised as possible. The noble Baroness, Lady Gould, asked what actions were being taken following the UNGA ministerial meeting in 2013, when the Foreign Secretary launched the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. I will refer to some specific elements. The first is eroding impunity, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, referred. The 137 endorsing countries have agreed that no peace agreements should give amnesty to people who have ordered or carried out rape. The second is protecting civilians. Every UN peacekeeping mission should now automatically include provisions for the protection of civilians from sexual violence in conflict. The third is eradicating safe havens for the perpetrators of sexual violence in armed conflict. Suspects wanted for war-zone rape can now be arrested in any of the countries that have signed up—a number that is growing. We need to see an increase in the number of prosecutions, something referred to by my noble friend Lady Hodgson and the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock. Only that will really underscore the determination of the international community to stamp out this wicked and heinous crime.

A new international protocol will be launched next year which will improve global standards for documenting and investigating conflict-zone sexual violence and improve accountability. There will be new global efforts to ensure support and justice for survivors of rape. A number of speakers referred to the shame and stigma felt by people who have been victims and the need to ensure that that is squarely put on the shoulders of the perpetrators.

The noble Baroness, Lady Gould, was concerned about some attitudes towards abortion among the donor community. DfID welcomed recent UN Security Council Resolution 2122, which said that women ought to have,

“access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including regarding pregnancies resulting from rape, without discrimination”.

That is a very clear statement and something that this Government support and acknowledge. We will uphold that and encourage other donors to equally respect and uphold it.

The noble Lord, Lord Hussain, referred to events in India. Priorities for DfID’s work in India include tackling violence and investing in girls’ education. As for his specific point about whether we would raise this directly with the Government of India, I shall take that back and report to my right honourable friend the Secretary of State and see what action we might take to ensure that the horrific cases that he brought to our attention are acted upon.

The noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, asked for examples of perpetrators being brought to justice. As I have mentioned, that was a key element of the G8 and UN General Assembly declarations on the subject. One additional element is that we will not hesitate to arrest and transfer fugitives required to appear before these courts who come to the UK. That is an important addition that should go without saying. It is something that all agencies and departments are signed up to.

I am running out of time so will just refer to some closing remarks in my brief. I will write to those noble Lords and noble Baronesses whose questions I have not addressed and give them the best possible answers that I can to the points that they have raised. I conclude by saying that this is something that the Government take with the utmost seriousness. We believe that progress is being made on it in the international community. We acknowledge that it has been referred to as “history’s greatest silence”. Along with the actions that are taking place, this debate today is giving a voice to the victims. We can all be proud of that, but there is a lot more to do.