Labour Party has a strategy to tackle violence against women
Anna McMorrin, Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice and MP for Cardiff North, calls for urgent change to stop violence against women and girls
EVERY day we are waking up to harrowing reminders of how women and girls aren’t safe anywhere. Whether in the street walking alone to meet friends, in a nightclub, at work, or at home which should be a safe space.
The disturbing experiences emerging this week of women in nightclubs now being injected with drugs and having their own bodies used against them, the revelations of abuse of power within the police and the devastating murders of innocent young women, all highlight the scale of the challenge we face to tackle violence against women and girls.
The act of drink spiking is sadly not a new one – women have always had to watch their drinks for fear of being spiked on nights and to stay safe. But the perpetrators’ methods to inflict suffering on women are changing and it is always women who are forced to find ways to protect themselves from new threats – whether it’s anti-drink spiking straws, a safety app for when you’re walking home alone, or wearing clothes with thicker material to prevent covert needle penetration. It really shouldn’t be this way. My own daughter Miriam is in her final year at university and her experiences of nights out sadly always include efforts to protect herself and her friends from harm. She spoke to me about the recent worrying attacks, saying that whenever she goes out she ensures that there are always friends or people she knows around.
And she is scared and feels wary even going out now. She tells me it used to be that the way to protect herself was to cover her drink – now it’s people injecting drugs into them. Several of her friends have had their drinks spiked, showing just how easy it is to become victim to this kind of attack.
But now she asks me how are they supposed to respond? She wants bars and nightclubs to act, make sure they search people and do a lot more to prevent this from happening. The Girls Night In campaign here in Cardiff is calling for venues to listen to their serious safety concerns and for greater protections. I support those calls and stand in solidarity with our young people across the country who are saying enough is enough.
This Conservative government has failed to take violence against women seriously. It’s failure to act, its appalling record on rape prosecutions and convictions and rejection of Labour’s proposal to make misogyny a hate crime illustrate its shambolic approach.
And the women and girls who bravely put their faith in our criminal justice system and report a crime are failed at every turn too. “Traumatised”, “forgotten”, “abandoned” are words spoken by victims who are being let down by the system.
One of the first conversations I had after becoming Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice was with Helen who lives in Cardiff North and is a victim of domestic and financial abuse. Her experience shocked me to the core. The CPS took her case to trial three times, but failed and Helen lost everything. Seeing her abuser walk free and having to simply catch the bus home as though nothing had happened, with no one on her side was like reliving the abuse all over again. She is determined to speak out about her injustice.
“Things have to change for victims. To go through what I went through is not ok and makes everything 10 times worse,” she told me.
The father of a victim of sexual assault at just 10 years old also told me he “can see why women and girls give up on sexual abuse cases” after their court case was cancelled the morning of trial.
It is clear that under the Tories the system isn’t working for the people it was set to up to protect, and violence against women and girls isn’t being treated with the severity necessary to prevent it from happening in the first place. Whether that’s cracking down on those who inject or spike drinks, or making sure women and girls can walk home safely. It is failing in its fundamental duty – to protect women and girls and uphold the law.
Labour has a plan. Our Victims’ Bill is ready to go, and our strategy to tackle violence against women and girls would strengthen rights and protections, and tackle court backlogs. It would make misogyny a hate crime, create tougher sentences and create new offences for street sexual harassment. Our Victims’ Bill would make agencies accountable to the Victims’ Commissioner, ensure victims are informed of their rights and improve communication.
Six Justice Secretaries over six years have so far failed to deliver for victims. We will keep going until victims are seen, heard, protected and supported. We owe it to our daughters and to women and girls everywhere to do better.