Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to provide (a) safe and (b) supportive accommodation for female asylum seekers.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government and our manifesto included the mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

The Home Office will also go further than before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach to halve violence against women and girls, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy to be published this year.

The Home Office works carefully to ensure that the needs and vulnerabilities of those residing in asylum accommodation are identified and considered, including those needs related to mental health and trauma and will use every tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence wherever it occurs, including in asylum accommodation.

This government also state our commitment to a gender sensitive asylum system and that we carefully consider the vulnerabilities of all those in our care, which includes previous trauma.