Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, How the Government is responding to evidence that domestic violence is a significant precursor to fatal knife crime involving children.

Preventing tragedies and building a society where children are free from the fear that knife violence will affect them is the driving force behind the recent publication of ‘Protecting Lives, Building Hope: A Plan to Halve Knife Crime’.

The Government’s plan acknowledges that adverse childhood experiences, such as domestic abuse, can substantially impact children and young people throughout their lives. This is why a core pillar of our plan consists of supporting young people, addressing the root causes of knife crime, acting early to prevent the childhood harms and traumas that can increase the risk of knife violence later in life.

The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse’ strategy, which sets out the government’s vision and actions for halving violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse, places children and young people at its heart, particularly in relation to prevention and early intervention. We continue to learn lessons from domestic homicide reviews and child death reviews, and welcome research exploring this important issue.