Thank you to everyone who has contacted me about Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
I am passionate about tackling VAWG, and I have long believed that stronger measures are needed to tackle this national emergency. That is why I was delighted to co-host a VAWG conference this year in Thanet, alongside Labour Councillor Joanne Bright, East Thanet Labour Women’s Branch, Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, POW Thanet and other partners to get women talking about changes they’d like to see in the district to help them feel safer. You can watch a clip of me talking in parliament about this conference and the action women in Thanet want to see by clicking here.
I also recently raised concerns in parliament about young girls being coerced by abusive partners into setting up online pornography accounts on the website Onlyfans, which I know is of real concern to the Oasis Domestic Abuse Service as a new frontline in the abuse of women and girls.
Ending VAWG will require action across the whole of society. I believe that we must also look beyond just reform of policing and criminal justice to our education system, our online regulation, our media and our community services. We need to see urgent action on domestic abuse, and proper support for victims.
That is why I am proud that Labour has made halving incidents of VAWG over the next decade one of our core national missions, backed by a huge number of important policies including:
- Putting specialist rape and sexual offences teams in every police force, with the most prolific and harmful perpetrators relentlessly targeted using police tactics previously reserved for terrorists and organised crime.
- Fast-tracking rape cases, with specialist courts at every Crown Court location in England and Wales, to end the horrifying situation that developed under the last government where the average rape case takes more than 1000 days to reach court.
- Introducing domestic abuse experts in 999 control rooms so that victims can talk directly to a specialist, and ensuring there is a legal advocate in every police force area to advise victims from the moment of report to trial.
- Ensuring schools address misogyny and teach young people – both boys and girls – about healthy relationships and consent.
- Strengthening the use of Stalking Protection Orders and giving women the right to know the identity of online stalkers.
- Introducing a new criminal offence for spiking to help police better respond to this crime.
- Strengthening the rights and protections available to women in co-habiting couples, as well as for whistleblowers in the workplace who report sexual harassment.
I also welcome the government’s increase in funding for social housing announced by our chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in the budget. This will improve housing provision for the survivors of domestic abuse.
Standing up for women is one of the main reasons I entered politics, so I am immensely proud that Keir Starmer has made it his mission to halve instances of violence against women and girls in a decade. Achieving that mission will be a hugely difficult task, but please rest assured that as your MP I will leave no stone unturned to banish this scourge from society.