Baroness Bertin: ...pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft domestic abuse Bill, I know that the extraterritorial jurisdiction provisions of the Bill are intended to fulfil the UK’s obligations under Article 44 of the Istanbul convention. I welcome the fact that these provisions will bring the UK closer to ratifying a convention that we signed in 2012 and which will protect women and girls from violence and...
Naomi Long: ..., or both. The maximum penalty on conviction on indictment is five years' imprisonment or a fine, or both. Importantly, the new offence of stalking will ensure compliance with the Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, which is known as the Istanbul convention. That requires extraterritorial jurisdiction to be extended to the...
Baroness Newlove: ...that as the Bill is for domestic abuse only, Amendment 138 should be considered. However, there are two reasons I urge noble Lords to accept the first alternative. First, it is consistent with the Istanbul convention, which forms part of the policy context of this Bill. The Istanbul convention sets out to prevent and combat violence against women in all situations, as well as to tackle...
Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: ...groups to ensure sufficient provision of specialist domestic abuse support services in their local areas. At Second Reading, I spoke about the importance of our obligations under CEDAW and the Istanbul convention, and how both make clear that violence against women and girls, especially domestic abuse, is a form of discrimination against women. It is even more so if the survivors are from...
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: ...receiving refuge services who were out of their area—and very happy to be out of their area. The second key important matter is the specialist nature of some of the services, as required by the Istanbul convention. We should be providing, on the face of the legislation, for such matters as race, national origin, language, colour, religion, social origin, coming from a national minority,...
Baroness Crawley: ...Prelate the Bishop of London do not believe that the Bill in its present form—however much we welcome it, and I certainly do—is compliant with the requirements of Article 4, paragraph 3 of the Istanbul convention. During the passage of the Bill in the Commons, MPs, including the Minister, stated that all victims of domestic abuse are treated first and foremost as victims, regardless...
Liam McArthur: ...the convener referred to. Given the nature and the complexity of the issues raised by the bill, that is far from ideal. However, the principles of the bill are sound. They reflect those of the Istanbul convention, which is already in place in countries such as the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and Spain as well as in England and Wales, all of which have introduced short-term protective...
Baroness Lister of Burtersett: ...Reading, the Minister explained that one of the Bill’s objectives is “to improve performance across local and national agencies.”—[ Official Report, 5/1/21; col. 21.] This reflects the Istanbul convention’s stipulation that measures to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women and girls should involve “all relevant actors, such as government agencies”. Pursuing a...
Wera Hobhouse: ...a single comprehensive and integrated policy framework for (a) protection against gender-based violence and domestic abuse and (b) support for victims that is aligned to the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Istanbul Convention.
Naomi Long: ...Justice. It is primarily for the Department for Communities and the Executive Office, but I would fully support them in bringing forward such a strategy. It is not a requirement of the terms of the Istanbul convention that we have such a strategy. However, that is not an argument for not having one. We should aim not simply to comply with the minimum standards in the Istanbul convention...
Victoria Atkins: ...number in the Northern Ireland Executive is working hard and has confirmed her intention to bring in similar legislation in Northern Ireland. That is a vital part of our jigsaw in ratifying the Istanbul convention, so we wish her and the Assembly well in their scrutiny of the forthcoming legislation.
Baroness Goudie: ...on trade and commercial considerations. There are relevant factors that must be kept well in mind, including respecting human rights, maintaining workers’ rights and acting in accordance with the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW. I trust that the Minister will confirm that the Government fully intend to implement this human rights convention, and of...
Baroness Wilcox of Newport: ...and safe reporting. Women must be responded to primarily as survivors of abuse and in need of help—not as immigration cases. Linked to this is ensuring the UK meets its obligations under the Istanbul convention, as mentioned by my noble friend Lady Gale, especially on how any current pilot schemes might help to achieve the ratification required. It is over nine years since the inception...
Rhoda Grant: ...to deal with misogyny may never transpire. In Scotland, we know that violence against women is not only about hatred; it is about control and inequality. Engender pointed out that both the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Council of Europe’s Istanbul convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence...
Marion Fellows: The Istanbul convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence imposes obligations on the state to ensure that investigations and judicial proceedings on all forms of violence covered by the convention are carried out without undue delay and that they take into consideration the rights of the victim at all stages of the criminal proceedings. The Scottish...
Anthony Mangnall: ...suspiciously kind to me on a whole host of issues. I am particularly grateful for his support since the day that I gave my maiden speech on this issue. He was right to talk about issues such as the Istanbul convention and to say that leadership is more important than ever. He has a global and local vision. This is not an issue on which the UK can sit on a high horse. Domestic abuse happens...
Lord Thomas of Gresford: ...many. At the moment, these offences consist of murder, manslaughter, crimes against humanity, torture and sexual offences where the victim of the crime is under 18. Under the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence—the Istanbul Convention—the Government, in a paper published on 17 August 2020, indicated that they will...
Baroness Gale: ...victims of domestic abuse and face distinctive barriers in accessing domestic abuse services, including the criminal justice system? Can she confirm that the UK will comply with Article 4.3 of the Istanbul convention regarding non-discrimination on gender identity and sexual orientation, and in doing so ensure that government support and funding is in place?
Baroness Lister of Burtersett: ...women’s needs to their immigration status. Will the Government act on these concerns and rethink the pilot or, better still, enshrine in the Bill protection for abused migrant women and the Istanbul convention principle of non-discrimination, as is widely called for?
Victoria Atkins: The Government has today laid before Parliament and published the fourth annual report on the United Kingdom’s progress toward the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Combatting Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (the “Istanbul Convention”). The UK signed the Istanbul Convention in 2012, signaling our strong commitment to tackling violence against women and...