Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to incorporate the Istanbul Convention on violence against women into UK law.

The Government signed the Istanbul Convention to signal the UK’s strong commitment to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG). This Government remains fully committed to ratifying, once the UK is fully compliant with the Convention.

Since signing the Convention in 2012, we have continued to step up our efforts to combat VAWG; we have strengthened the law; introduced new protective tools; and issued a range of guidance and support for frontline professionals.

In most respects the UK already complies with, or goes further than the Convention requires. However there remains one outstanding issue in relation to extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) which needs to be addressed and this requires primary legislation. We will introduce the ETJ measures necessary for compliance in England and Wales as part of the Domestic Abuse Bill and we are engaging with the Devolved Administrations on the measures necessary to ensure compliance in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This Government supported The Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017, which requires the Secretary of State to lay a report before Parliament on the measures being taken to enable the UK to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

The Government will be publishing this report by 1 November 2017, as required by the Act.