Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to assist Yazidi women in Iraq and Syria who have been kidnapped by ISIS.

The current security situation and the deliberate blocking of aid by ISIL have made it extremely difficult for us or our partners to access ISIL controlled areas.

We condemn the brutal human rights abuses perpetrated by ISIL, including reports of the trafficking and kidnapping of Yezidi women. The UK government is committed, as part of an international coalition, to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL.

UK humanitarian aid has been helping many victims who have managed to escape ISIL’s atrocities, including through the protection of vulnerable groups and through meeting the specific needs of displaced women and girls. In Dahuk in Northern Iraq, where many Yezidi women have fled to, our partners are providing psychosocial and community outreach support for survivors of sexual and gender based violence.