The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP

25th March 2020
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA

Prime Minister, 

Over the last week, monumental measures have been taken by the government to control the spread of coronavirus and now parliament is closing early for the same reason. While we welcome the measures that are needed to try and keep people safe, requiring people to stay at home and effectively ‘locking down’ the UK does not protect the safety of everyone. Increased measures of societal control put women and children experiencing domestic abuse at far greater danger. Government has a duty of care to protect every member of the public. 

The 1.6 million women experiencing domestic abuse yearly should be no exception. 

Domestic Violence Protection Orders enable the police to temporarily remove suspected perpetrators from a victims’ home for up to 28 days. They are underused across the UK because of the cost and administrative burden. At the same time support services are struggling to keep up with demand from women seeking help. Funding cuts to refuges of around 50% since 2011, along with a surge in reported incidences of abuse has led to 60% of referrals to refuges being turned away. 

Reports from organisations across the globe have shown domestic abuse increases with enforced isolation

From a charity in Hubei to a domestic violence hotline in Oregon, reports suggest that social distancing and lockdown measures result in an increase in cases of domestic abuse as households become pressure cookers for coercive control and violence. The government cannot just close its own doors and abandon people to these increased risks without ensuring the police have the powers they need to intervene, and support services are properly resourced. 

There are immediate steps that can be taken to protect survivors:

1. Domestic Violence Protection Orders must be extended to cover the full isolation period giving victims immediate protection away from the threat of violence, and breathing space to make vital decisions. 
2. Court fees for cases of domestic abuse must be waived with cases prioritised in court and delegated to trained magistrates. 
3. Emergency funding must urgently be supplied to refuge services who are currently under immense pressure to protect the increasing number of domestic abuse victims. 

If our government acts now, lives can be saved. 

Over the past week, our government has proven that in urgent times, urgent measures are well within reach. Parliament must reopen to change the law on DVPOs and release emergency funding for support services. Women’s lives depend on it.  

Mandu Reid
Leader of the Women’s Equality Party

"The domestic abuse bill is one of the most over-announced and under delivered bills in recent political history. First announced in 2017, successive Conservative governments have failed to deliver this life-saving legislation: delaying the consultation stage, nearly killing it when Boris Johnson decided to illegally suspend parliament, and choosing not to carry it over to a new parliamentary session when a general election was called.

The Women’s Equality Party welcomed the Conservative Party’s pledge to reform the parole system, but said it risks placing the onus on victims to get the right outcomes.

The conservative Party’s reforms are a response to the outrageous and indefensible Parole Board decision in January 2018 that allowed serial rapist John Worboys early release from prison. The decision was subsequently challenged by victims and reversed, keeping Worboys in prison indefinitely. 

The Women’s Equality Party today welcomed the extent to which the government’s Roadmap For Change on gender equality acknowledges many of the structural barriers that impact women over their lifetime. However, it criticised the solutions presented by the roadmap as lacking in ambition. 

Kay Wesley is elected as Women’s Equality Party's first Councillor and WEP candidates achieve outstanding results in local elections across England.

The Women’s Equality Party has put diversity at the centre of its campaign for the Greater London Authority, fielding an impressive list of eleven candidates - including 64% Black and minority ethnic women and 27% LGBT candidates. 

The Women’s Equality Party launched its e-Quality campaign in 2017 to highlight how our current data and tech framework can harm women and minorities and undermine equal relationships, trust in institutions and democracy. Organisations like Glitch UK and Level Up have continued to campaign to end online abuse and put pressure on the government.