Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what work the Department for International Development is funding to ensure that safe spaces are designated for women and girls where they can report abuse without alerting perpetrators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UK is deeply concerned about the surge in violence against women and girls (VAWG) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is more important than ever to support safe spaces and services for survivors of violence. These are essential and life-saving.

The UK is already the largest donor to the UN Population Fund and we have committed an additional £10 million to their COVID-19 response, which will provide services to women and girls through safe spaces. We have provided £20 million to support the UN Children’s Fund COVID-19 response, strengthening and establishing response and referral mechanisms for survivors. We are urgently reorienting existing bilateral programmes to ensure women and girls can continue to access support during the lockdown, including safe spaces. For example, in Nepal, DFID is financing safe spaces for women in nine shelters and 42 COVID-19 quarantine sites. In Uganda, DFID is supporting the Government's response to the spikes in VAWG by funding 13 shelters across the country and supporting revisions of standard operating procedures to ensure safety of frontline staff and survivors.