A safe, just and equal world for women

Advance responds to the State Opening of Parliament 2024

July 17, 2024
We are pleased to hear the reaffirmation from the Government in today’s State Opening of Parliament to their commitment to tackle violence against women and girls.

To achieve this, it is important that any plan to do so is created in consultation with the specialist women’s voluntary sector, as well as the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the Victim’s Commissioner, to ensure that this legislation works for victim-survivors of abuse and trauma.

The Government must avoid empty words by backing up their pledge with full and proper investment, including ring-fenced funds for specialist ‘led by and for’ services for marginalised survivors.

They must ensure that they provide preventative initiatives and early intervention services, as well as emergency and long-term support for:

  • Survivors of domestic abuse
  • Women in contact with the criminal justice system, of which the majority are also survivors of domestic abuse
  • Girls and young women up to the age of 25 who disproportionately experience domestic abuse
  • Women’s mental health, which is drastically affected by their experiences of abuse and trauma.

Advance welcomes the introduction of the Crime and Policing Bill and the Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill. We would, however like to see the Government engage with us and other expert partners in the women’s sector to strengthen protections for survivors of domestic abuse. The recommendations of our latest report, “Her Story, Her Justice” advocate for a Whole Justice Approach to domestic abuse, embedding a specialist Criminal Justice IDVA in every police station, and rolling out and accrediting Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts.

We are also encouraged by several bills introduced including the Renter’s Rights Bill which we hope will, unlike the previous iteration, afford proper protection for domestic abuse survivors from being labelled ‘anti-social’ and therefore being barred from social housing lists or allowing landlords a loophole to give short eviction notices, leaving more women homeless. We are also pleased to see the introduction of the long-awaited Mental Health Bill. This bill must put an end to the imprisonment of vulnerable women for ‘their own safety’ on mental health grounds and include a framework of collaboration between mental health services and police.

Given the current prison capacity crisis, it’s disappointing however that the Government has not reintroduced a Sentencing Bill which presumes that short sentences would be suspended or served in the community. We would urge the government to return this legislation to parliament as soon as possible.

We await more detail on the English Devolution Bill. Alongside encouraging economic growth, protecting local authority funding must be a priority for the new Government. Local authorities have seen drastic real term cuts since 2010, leaving many on the verge of bankruptcy. VAWG services cannot be seen as ‘nice to have’ but necessary for the safety of women, and society as a whole.

Looking to the future, the Government must take a 360 approach and expel the deep-rooted misogyny in our society and in our systems and we stand ready and waiting to work with politicians and officials to achieve this.

Read Advance Manifesto

Media enquiries

For more information, please contact Tracie Couper, Press Officer at Advance, at tracie.c@advancecharity.org.uk or on 0743 2700 287.

Notes to the editor 
About Advance
  • Advance’s vision is a world in which women and children lead safe, equal, violence-free lives so that they can flourish and actively contribute to society. The charity works with women who experience domestic abuse to be safe and take control of their lives, and women who have committed crime or are at risk of offending to break the cycle.
  • As well as providing direct support, Advance works with statutory services, government agencies and other women’s charities to ensure a holistic approach to the issues these women face.
  • Women must be referred to Advance, via statutory services or the charity’s self-referral scheme. For more information about who Advance is able to support, please visit Get help 
  • For facts and statistics about domestic abuse and women in the criminal justice system, as well as Advance’s work, please visit Our impact 

 

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