Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Ending Violence against Women and Girls Strategy 2016 – 2020, published by her Department in March 2016, what progress her Department has made on plans to (a) trial GPS proximity tracking and (b) harness new technologies to tackle violence against women and girls.

The Government is committed to ensuring that survivors of domestic abuse receive the help and support they need. We will shortly be launching a consultation on a Domestic Abuse Bill which will seek views on how we can better protect victims of domestic abuse and take robust action against perpetrators.

The Government’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy included the commitment to trial new GPS proximity tracking technology to manage and disrupt persistent offenders and offer greater protections to victims. Funding has been provided though the Police Innovation Fund to Northumbria Police to trial the use of GPS tagging in domestic abuse cases, and through the Tampon Tax Fund we have provided £250,000 to Refuge for a Technological Empowerment Programme for women who have experienced gender based violence.