Sentencing Policy: Child Neglect/Abuse

Part of Women and Equalities – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 May 2016.

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Photo of Philip Davies Philip Davies Conservative, Shipley 12:00, 26 May 2016

Despite what the Minister says, according to the Ministry of Justice’s figures for the last available period 33% of men convicted of cruelty and neglect of children were sent to prison, but only 15% of women were. That does not sound gender-neutral to me. Notwithstanding the fact that those figures are clearly far too low, given that, as she made clear, these crimes are abhorrent, will she explain why there is such a huge discrepancy between the two figures? Given the nature of these crimes, she surely cannot trot out her normal answer that women are not being sent to prison so that they can spend more time with their children.