Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with her international counterparts on tackling attacks by Boko Haram against women and girls in Nigeria.

We are deeply concerned at the devastating impact of attacks by extremist groups, including Boko Haram, on women and girls in Nigeria. We condemn all incidents of violence against civilians. The UK Government continues to put women and girls at the centre of our approach to foreign policy, including preventing violence and supporting women's participation in peace efforts.

The Foreign Secretary has made tackling conflict-related sexual violence one of her top priorities, and Nigeria is one of nine focus countries in the UK's Women Peace and Security (WPS) National Action Plan. At our recent dialogue in support of our Security and Defence Partnership with Nigeria, we committed to collaborate and share best practice on implementation of our respective WPS National Action Plans. We have raised conflict-related sexual violence in Nigeria with the Nigerian Government and Nigerian stakeholders, and continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to protect all those at risk of violence, and to bring perpetrators to justice. We have offered to provide training in support of efforts to ensure gender perspectives are taken into account during security operations. I was able to discuss Nigeria's complex security situation, and the UK's offer of support, with the Vice President and Foreign Minister during a visit to Abuja last month.