Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of victims of domestic violence who have withdrawn their cases due to court delays in each of the last five years.

It is not possible to separately identify cases of domestic violence, which will be recorded under the specific offences for which they are prosecuted, for example, intentional strangulation or suffocation.

Victims and survivors of domestic abuse also may choose to withdraw their cases for a number of reasons (for example, personal reasons).

This Government inherited record and rising court backlogs which have seen too many victims waiting far too long for justice. We are committed to bearing down on the caseload backlog to speed up the delivery of justice for all victims.

Timely and effective justice is key to increasing the confidence of victims and survivors in the justice system. Strengthening the justice system response to domestic abuse and increasing victim confidence are crucial to achieving this Government’s ambitious commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) this decade.