Home Affairs Committee calls on Government to improve Domestic Violence Bill ‘offer’

(22 October 2018) Following its inquiry into the proposed Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill, the Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended that the Government introduces a Violence Against Women and Domestic Abuse Bill, and Commissioner, to recognise the gender inequality that underpins domestic abuse and to ensure that responses to it are linked to the other forms of violence against women and girls.

The Committee has also called for split payments of Universal Credit to be the standard, because a single payment can worsen situations of financial abuse.

Critically, the Committee recognises the particular vulnerability of migrant women experiencing abuse and has called for women who’ve experienced domestic violence to have the right to access protection and support regardless of their immigration status. The #StepUpMigrantWomen campaign which EVAW supports has highlighted the  clear statutory failure to respond to the needs of migrant women, who have severely restricted routes to safety and support, and are some of the most vulnerable survivors of abuse, facing a greater risk of poverty and destitution.

EVAW hopes the Government will respond soon to these recommendations and improve the ‘offer’ in its forthcoming legislation.