Violence Against Women

Baroness Fookes Excerpts

Wednesday 25th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Fookes (Con)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Whitaker]

My Lords, will the Minister join me in congratulating the Government of Gambia on banning female genital mutilation, as announced in a newspaper today?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Bates]

The noble Baroness is right, and that is why we have a ground-breaking, leading campaign called This is Abuse. The campaign plays a key part in that, as well as ensuring that there is appropriate sex and relationships education in schools. People need to understand the word “consent” and the meaning of the word “abuse”, and to live by those terms.

[Baroness Fookes]

Does the Minister agree that, where different authorities and persons hold evidence, they should actually talk to one another?

[Lord Bates]

That is absolutely right. It is very important that the cross-ministerial group, chaired by the Home Secretary, ensures that there is a joined-up response on these issues. That is also one of the purposes of the domestic violence disclosure scheme—the so-called Clare’s law—which allows people to find out whether a potential partner, whom they might be bringing into their home, has a violent or abusive past.