(Vauxhall)
(Lab/Co-op):...Sadly, in January 2019 the National Crime Agency
estimated that 91% of people associated with county lines were
men, but females were under-represented both as offenders and
victims of exploitation because the data is not there. One of the
issues I raised when I held a Westminster Hall debate on this
subject was the importance of ensuring that violence reduction
units, Police and Crime
Commissioners and different policing agencies across the
country hold data on how many girls and young women come into
their services. There is a lot of data on boys and young men. The
data on women and girls is patchy at best. It is important that
when the police stop and search a car with a young girl in it,
they do not assume that she is the girlfriend of a gang member.
She could be being held in that car against her will. She could
be being criminally or sexually exploited. It is about asking her
questions about her safety...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ( ):...How will the Victims and
Prisoners Bill improve people’s experience and the experience of
victims? We are supporting victims of domestic abuse by enhancing
the position of independent domestic violence advisers, while
improving wider support services through a joint statutory duty
in England on Police and Crime
Commissioners local authorities and health bodies
to collaborate in commissioning support services. Beyond the
Bill, we are providing £51 million to support victims of sexual
assault and domestic abuse. Those are unprecedented numbers that
the Government have committed to this field...
To read the whole debate, CLICK HERE