Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to (a) recognise domestic abuse as a form of violence against women and girls, (b) prioritise funding for specialist services, (c) implement reforms to family courts recommended in the Ministry of Justice’s Harm Panel review and (d) take other steps to tackle such violence.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Domestic Abuse is a form of Violence Against Women and Girls and this Government is committed to tackling VAWG in all its forms.
Our new VAWG strategy will be published next year and will set out our continued recognition of the fundamental importance of specialist services. We will use every tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence.
On 20th September, we announced a package of measures to tackle VAWG. This included launching the Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in selected police forces and courts on 27th November to further strengthen protections for victims and introducing domestic abuse specialists into 999 control rooms from early 2025 as part of ‘Raneem’s Law’. On 3rd December, we also announced new measures to tackle stalking.
We are committed to responding to the Harm Panel’s recommendations and the Pathfinder pilot is central to reforming the family justice system. This entirely reformed court model is currently operating in Dorset, North Wales, Birmingham and South-East Wales and seeks to improve the experiences of children and families and reduce re-traumatisation through a more investigative and less adversarial approach.
Following the spending review announcements in October, the Home Office and other departments across Government are deciding how their departmental budgets are allocated to deliver the Government’s priorities in 2025/26. Phase 2 of the Spending Review will be mission-led, ensuring Departments work together to develop a shared strategy for delivering the Government’s priority areas for reform.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases involved violence against (a) women and (b) girls in (i) criminal and (ii) family courts in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government, which is why we have committed to halving the prevalence of VAWG within the decade. We will go further than before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach to halve violence against women and girls, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy to be published this year.
VAWG is defined as offences which predominantly, but not exclusively, affect women and girls. This includes sexual offences, stalking, harassment and domestic abuse.
Published data on the number of cases of stalking, harassment and sexual offences at criminal courts can be found in the Outcomes by Offence data tool published here: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: June 2024.
Data held centrally by the Ministry of Justice does not include detailed information about victims of offences and the nature of the offence. Therefore, information on some violence against women and girls and domestic abuse cases can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Found: Crime and Policing Bill Written evidence submitted by Claire Waxman OBE, Independent Victims’ Commissioner
Apr. 01 2008
Source Page: Tackling Violence Against Women: A cross-government narrative. 44 p.Found: and abuse, and human trafficking.
Apr. 28 2025
Source Page: Babies, children and young people’s experiences of domestic abuseFound: , all of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s work – covers all victims and survivors of domestic abuse
Apr. 28 2025
Source Page: Babies, children and young people’s experiences of domestic abuseFound: family (78%), while 45% of services supported children who are victims and survivors of domestic abuse
Feb. 03 2025
Source Page: Government encourages victims of sexual violence to seek supportFound: The campaign launch coincides with Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week.
Mentions:
1: Emily Darlington (Lab - Milton Keynes Central) happen in family law courts are a continuing perpetration of the domestic abuse that the women and mothers - Speech Link
2: Marie Tidball (Lab - Penistone and Stocksbridge) parental victims of domestic abuse that comes with repeated attempts at contact and the presumption - Speech Link
3: Alison Bennett (LD - Mid Sussex) A constituent of mine, who will remain anonymous, has undergone domestic abuse that the family courts - Speech Link
Jul. 20 2009
Source Page: Forced Marriage Case Handling guide for MPs and constituency offices. 13 p.Found: Forced marriage should be recognised as a form of domestic violence, a human rights abuse, and, where
Jan. 22 2025
Source Page: Transforming the criminal justice response to domestic abuseFound: It draws on insights from victims and survivors, specialist domestic abuse services and criminal justice