Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the collection of data on the effect of sexual and gender-based violence on women in later life in developing countries.

Supporting robust data collection on violence against women and girls and its effects is critical. However, international systems do not yet fully capture sufficient data for those over the age of 49. At UNGA the Secretary of State announced DFID’s role as an anchor partner of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. We are working with international bodies to support the development of rigorous, national data on violence against women and girls of all ages and its effect. One area we are looking at is whether the internationally recognised Demographic and Health Surveys can be expanded to women in later life.