Un International Day: Violence Against Women

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 1:22 pm on 8 December 2016.

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Photo of Angela Crawley Angela Crawley Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Equalities, Women and Children) 1:22, 8 December 2016

I commend hon. Friends and colleagues for their incredibly powerful contributions. I congratulate the hon. Members for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra), for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green), for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant) and for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) and Mrs Miller on supporting this Backbench Business debate. It is absolutely necessary that we have such an important debate on the Floor of the House. It is through contributions such as that of Tracy Brabin, my hon. Friend Michelle Thomson and my friend from the Women and Equalities Committee, Mims Davies, that we are able to give a voice to these important matters.

The UN initiative of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women serves to remind us of some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable. Violence against women persists in systematic abuse across the globe. I echo the sentiment of the hon. Member for Feltham and Heston that women’s rights are human rights. Although large strides have been made in recent years, as we have already heard there is still a long way to go. More than 20 years after the UN General Assembly declaration on the elimination of violence against women, one in three women still experiences physical or sexual violence, mostly from an intimate partner.

Violence against women encompasses wide ranges of abuse, including domestic violence, sexual violence, female genital mutilation, honour killings and trafficking. These are abhorrent acts, and we all have a part to play in their eradication. In the words of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

“Break the silence. When you witness violence against women and girls, do not sit back. Act.”

I ask the Government to follow that command and act. We are in the middle of the UNiTE campaign’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, which runs from 25 November to 10 December.