Oral Answers to Questions

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Sackman]

The hon. Lady highlights an absolutely appalling case. If she is asking whether I think that is acceptable, the answer is no. As my hon. Friend the Victims Minister said, justice delayed is justice denied. It is for that reason that we have asked Sir Brian Leveson to recommend bold and fundamental reform. The hon. Lady has just described the human consequence of the Crown court backlog that we inherited from the past Government, and we will fix the mess.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

Last week I visited Meadow Road youth centre to see the fantastic work that Lloyd and other youth workers are doing to provide an outlet for young people. However, it could be closed down due to funding uncertainty. Does the Minister agree that sporting centres such as that reduce youth offending and are hubs for rehabilitation? Will my hon. Friend commit to Dudley getting its fair share of funding and to keeping the centre open?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

Centres such as the one that my hon. Friend describes in her constituency do excellent work and help to reduce youth offending. If she writes to me about the case that she refers to, I will look into it.

Violence against Women and Girls

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Thursday 9th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I thank all those who have contributed to this powerful debate. Violence against women and girls is a grave issue that urgently demands our attention and action. It is a distressing reality that countless women and girls across the UK continue to live in fear and face unacceptable violence. However, the digital era has led to a new arena for abuse, with the rise of online emotional abuse, emotional blackmail, harassment, pressure and coercion to send sexual images, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and technologies such as deepfakes presenting urgent challenges. Perpetrators are exploiting digital technology to escalate abuse online to the real world. Most worryingly, abuse is now faceless.

I will highlight online abuse in this debate. In deepfakes and synthetic media, a person’s likeness is manipulated to create false and often explicit content, which is weaponised. It is disproportionately women and girls who are affected. Our 2023 report found that 98% of deepfake videos are pornographic, and 99% of victims are women. The recent Ofcom report sheds further light on the scale of the problem. Alarmingly, one in seven adults reports having seen sexual deepfakes. Even more troublingly, 17% of adults thought that deepfakes depicted someone under the age of 18. Those figures expose the harrowing reach of this technology and its potential harm to women, girls and young children. The report also highlights a critical gap in awareness. Nine per cent of adults say that they are not confident that they could identify a deepfake.

I welcome the Government’s recent announcement on criminalising the creation of explicit deepfakes without consent. However, legislation is not enough. Ofcom’s report underscores the need for a co-ordinated response involving Government, tech companies and civil society to tackle the issue. Developing tools to detect and remove harmful content is absolutely vital, as is ensuring that law enforcement agencies act swiftly to get the images removed. Education is equally important. Many victims are unaware of the risks, and public awareness campaigns can play a vital role in empowering individuals to recognise and report harmful content. Education is not just for the victims, but for young people, young men and men in society. Additionally, we must work with educators to ensure that we have the digital literacy to safely navigate the changing landscape.

While technology brings tremendous benefits to our lives, its misuse should not disproportionately affect women and girls. Legislation like that recently announced by the Government is a vital step forward, but it must be accompanied by systemic change and cultural awareness to ensure that all individuals, including all women and girls, can live free from fear and abuse, online and offline.