Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Kapersky State of Stalkerware Report 2023 on 20 March, which stated that 42 per cent of British citizens believe that cyberstalking of a romantic partner is acceptable, what steps they plan to take to increase awareness of online violence against women.

The scale of violence against women and girls in our country, including that which takes place online, is intolerable and this government will treat it as the national emergency that it is.

Stalking is an insidious crime, and the law is clear that what is illegal offline is also illegal online. Placing spyware on phones, hacking into accounts and accessing online accounts that perpetrators used to have authorised access to, are all crimes and should be reported to the police.

We will overhaul every aspect of society’s response to these devastating crimes, including tackling violent and misogynistic content online. This includes tackling the root causes of these crimes, by supporting our education system to teach children about healthy relationships and consent.

As part of our mission, we will be building on the Online Safety Act to tackle violent and misogynistic cultures online which can drive this kind of appalling crime. We will also strengthen the use of Stalking Protection Orders and will give women the right to know the identity of online stalkers.