Today, the Liberal Democrats have set out how a Liberal Democrat
government will strengthen support for survivors of violence
against women and girls and domestic abuse.
A Liberal Democrat government will expand the number of
refuges and rape crisis centres and ensure sustainable funding
for specialist support services, having passed the policy in a
motion at Autumn Conference.
The Liberal Democrats will also provide local authorities with
the necessary funding to provide accommodation for survivors of
abuse, making it a duty for councils to do so. These are vital
measures to strengthen support available to survivors of violence
and domestic abuse.
, Liberal Democrat Shadow
Secretary for Women and Equalities, said:
“For far too long support services for survivors of domestic
abuse have been patchy and inadequate. Unfortunately, under the
Tory government, this crisis has continued unchecked. The
Tories promised a Domestic Abuse Bill two years ago. Their
failure to bring this into law is an insult to
survivors.
“A Liberal Democrat government will expand the number of refuges
and rape crisis centres to ensure that every survivor can access
support services. It is vital to invest in preventing and
combating violence against women and girls, as well as doing all
that we can to support survivors."
ENDS
Notes for editors:
Supporting survivors of violence against women and girls
and domestic abuse -
The Liberal Democrats will expand the number of refuges and rape
crisis to meet demand. The Liberal Democrats will also
ensure sustainable funding for specialist support services, such
as those serving BAME women, and give local authorities the duty
and funding to provide accommodation for survivors of
abuse.
Liberal Democrats led on this issue in the last Parliament: In
April 2019 , and tabled an Early Day Motion
calling on the Conservative government to ratify the Istanbul
Convention and rape crisis services in April 2019.
The EDM which received cross-party support from 50 MPs can be
found here.
The motion passed at Autumn conference 2019 is below:
F4: Continuing the fight for gender equality
Conference notes that:
In the UK in 2016, items marketed specifically at women were 37
per cent more expensive on average than those marketed at
men.
Approximately 40 per cent of girls in the UK have used toilet
roll because they couldn't afford sanitary products.
In Wales Liberal Democrat Education Minister, , this year announced a
scheme to provide sanitary products to girls across primary and
secondary schools and colleges.
Tampons and towels are currently taxed as a non-essential item,
with the rate set at five per cent in the UK.
2019 figures show that the median pay gap this year was 11.9 per
cent.
Survivors of sexual assault are being turned away from accessing
vital support services; the Istanbul Convention says there should
be at least 150 Rape Crisis Centres in England and Wales, but
currently there are only 44; Campaigner Fern Champion's petition
on the issue has over 150,000 signatures.
Overall just 32 per cent of MPs are women and there are
significant variations between parties.
The impact of inequality, prejudice, and discrimination is
multiplied for women who are disabled, BAME, LGBT+, or from other
disadvantaged backgrounds or groups.
fought to introduce gender pay
gap reporting for large companies when she was a Minister in the
Coalition Government; Liberal Democrats were the first party to
lay a Parliamentary motion on the issue of period poverty and
Layla Moran's 2019 motion has garnered cross-party support;
Christine Jardine's Gender-based Pricing (Prohibition) Bill aimed
to combat the price gap, but the Conservative Government did not
give the Bill their backing; Wera Hobhouse's motion urging the
government to bring the Istanbul Convention into UK law has broad
cross-party support.
Conference believes that:
The gender price gap contributes to a 'double whammy' when
partnered with the gender pay gap that women continue to
face.
Menstrual hygiene should be considered a human right.
The government is neglecting people across this country by
failing to guarantee the right to justice and support for
survivors of sexual assault.
The UK needs more women in Parliament to successfully address the
issues that face contemporary society, including those of
inequality.
Conference reaffirms the Liberal Democrat commitment
to:
Extending the Equality Act to all companies with over 250
employees or those who receive public funds, requiring them to
monitor and publish data on diversity employment levels and pay
gaps.
Requiring diversity in public appointments and government
procurement, including at senior level.
Ensuring all women have access to affordable, good-quality sexual
and reproductive health care and services, including by doing all
we can to support the people of Northern Ireland to have access
to abortion facilities at home.
Conference calls for:
The UK government, and those of all other EU member states, to
ratify and bring into law the Istanbul Convention.
The government to roll out free sanitary products to schools,
hospitals, hostels, shelters, libraries, leisure centres, GP
surgeries, food banks, colleges and universities.
The government to work within the EU to remove the VAT on
sanitary products across all Member States, including the UK.
The government introduce legislation to scrap the gender price
gap on all products.
The government to require large companies to publicly publish
their parental leave policies, including information regarding
funding, to extend shared parental leave to self-employed
fathers, ensure shared parental leave is a day one right, and
give fathers an additional four weeks of use-it-or-lose-it
paternity leave.
The Liberal Democrats, and all political parties, to implement
Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, publishing their candidate
diversity data; and for parental and carer leave entitlements for
parliamentarians and councillors to be strengthened with
provisions to be made to ensure constituents continue to be
represented during these periods of leave.
