What’s up in Westminster?

EACH WEEK A FEMALE MP GIVES US THE INSIDER VIEW FROM PARLIAMENT

‘ We need to stop sexual liberation being used as a defence for men killing women’ Labour’s Harriet Harman – the longest-serving female MP – reveals her frustration with both the fight for equality and, of course, Brexit

I’ve just discovered that NHS South East London has banned single women from getting IVF on the basis that their children will be a ‘burden’ to society. It’s such an insult to all the women bringing up children on their own. The decision was made behind closed doors and has only just come to light. It shows real prejudice towards single women. It assumes they will suffer less from infertility than a married woman. This is the only NHS region I know of where this is happening, but who knows if it’s going on elsewhere. I’ve contacted Health Secretary Matt Hancock about this and I’m fighting to get this damaging, old-fashioned guideline changed.

It’s amazing that so many people have been fighting for the women’s movement for so long, but troubling there are still many battles to be won. I’m campaigning against something I call the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey defence’ in court. This is where men who are accused of killing their wife or girlfriend try to blame it on a ‘sex game gone wrong’, and say she was asking for it to be more violent. It’s ironic that women’s sexual liberation should be used against them to justify men killing them. I want to put a new piece of law into the Domestic Abuse Bill (currently going through Parliament) that men cannot argue in their defence that a woman consented to the violence he inflicted on her.

When this defence succeeds, it means a defendant gets off with manslaughter charges instead of murder. The woman can’t say anything because she’s dead, and her family are left distraught hearing that kind of thing in court, and seeing her reputation trashed. My amendment would make sure he cannot blame her for his violence; he needs to take responsibility for what he’s done. The worry is, if Parliament is suspended, the Domestic Abuse Bill will bite the dust and we’ll have to start all over again. It will be at the back of a queue of Brexit legislation.

People are very concerned about the instability and turbulence Brexit could cause and the atmosphere in Westminster is very tense because of it. But there are loads of MPS working very hard to try and sort the situation out. It’s a mix between people being very worried, and very determined. What happens next will all depend on the outcome of the various votes we need to have now.