Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their planned domestic abuse legislation will consider and provide for domestic abuse in communities where men assume that abuse is sanctioned by their faith.

The Government is clear that domestic abuse is a crime irrespective of whether that abuse is claimed to be sanctioned by faith.

We will be publishing a response to our public consultation on domestic abuse, together with a draft Domestic Abuse Bill, later this Parliamentary session.

The draft Bill will clearly define the types of behaviours that comprise domestic abuse be they controlling, coercive, threatening or violent and recognise that abuse can encompass psychological, physical, sexual, economic and emotional harms.