Webchat with Victoria Atkins MP, Home Office Minister for Safeguarding and Extremism, on Thursday 11th February at 11am.

[JuliaMumsnet]

Hello.

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with Victoria Atkins, Home Office Minister for Safeguarding and Extremism, on Thursday 11 February at 11am.

Victoria Atkins is the Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office. She was previously Minister for Women from 2018 to 2020.

As Minister for Safeguarding, her responsibilities include domestic abuse, violence against women and girls (including FGM and forced marriage), child sexual abuse, stalking, prostitution, sexual violence including the rape review, and early youth intervention on serious violence.

The Home Office is launching a nationwide call for evidence to inform the government’s new Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy. They are urging members of the public, especially women, to fill in the short online survey to share their experiences and views on the issue which will be reflected in the VAWG strategy, to be published in March.

As well as the public survey, the Home Office is setting up focused discussions with a range of representatives from the sector, and has involved charities in directly engaging with victims to gather their views. The new VAWG strategy will help the government to tackle these crimes and to increase the understanding, and ability to tackle, emerging forms of violence against women and girls such as upskirting and revenge porn.

Please join us here on Thursday at 11am. If you can’t join us on the day, please leave your question here in advance.

As always, please remember our webchat guidelines - one question per user, follow-ups only if there’s time and most questions have been answered, and please keep it civil. Also if one topic is dominating a thread, mods might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. (We may suspend the accounts of anyone who continues after we've posted to ask people to stop, so please take note.) Rest assured we will ALWAYS let the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

Many thanks,
MNHQ

Hi Victoria. Fiona from the We Can't Consent To This campaign here.

We were very pleased by the Government's announcement of new law on rough sex defences and an offence of non fatal strangulation - following a huge push by mumsnetters - so thank you.

There's been a horror rise in new forms of violence and abuse of women in recent years: normalisation of 'choking'/strangulation assaults in sex, deepfakes and other image based abuse (including threats to share intimate images), stealthing, upskirting...

The VAWG strategy will have a big job to tackle these and longstanding harms like underprosecution of rape. Do you think wider Government realises yet how big (and vital) a job this is going to be?

Why was the initial response to COVID so completely clueless when it came to women experiencing domestic abuse?

It felt like the group who decided on lockdown provisions was just completely unaware of the entire issue of domestic abuse and had to scramble to change the regulations after being forcibly reminded that these victims exist.

It felt like a horrible illustration of how women's viewpoints just aren't even considered by a government that is very male-skewed. Has anything been done since then to ensure women's perspectives are baked in to policy making?

Hello

Thanks for all your questions so far. We've got a lot now on issues around single-sex provision and gender identity so we're going to ask you not to post any more on that theme please. As ever we'll recommend that the guest address topics that have drawn a lot of questions.

Thanks
MNHQ

[quote Al77]@JuliaMumsnet Would it be possible to move this thread into the wider mumsnet boards as well? (It doesn't seem to be a feminism specific thread) in fact it seems like it would be missing a lot of people with very relevant input.[/quote]
Hello - it's sticked around in lots of places (Active, AIBU, Chat, Relationships, Politics, In The News etc)

Hello Victoria

Thank you for all your work on all this.

I'm aware that many women cannot leave abusive relationships because of economic insecurity and poverty.

There is also a lot of research showing that abuse can continue (and sometimes even intensifies) post breakup. The man may be angry and feels he has nothing to lose so becomes even more unreasonable and aggressive. This often takes the form of economic abuse, forcing someone into debt or refusing to pay child maintenance.

Recent research from Surviving Economic Abuse has shown that 1 in 5 women experiencing coercive control from an ex has had their child maintenance payments stopped by the perpetrators during lockdown. This is very concerning especially because we know that women have been hit especially hard financially by the pandemic and incrasing numbers are close to real poverty.

Please will you link up with the Child Maintenance Service, with the help of organisations such as Surviving Economic Abuse, to ensure that victims of domestic abuse are not being abused through the CMS?

This also applies to Universal Credit - which can lack understanding of the situations of abuse (physical and economic) that many women are in and therefore fail to help them out of danger or even prolong their suffering.

Will you push for domestic violence training of CMS and DWP staff, better linking with other departments, and funding to ensure that no one is left in abusive situations because they can't afford to leave?

Thank you!

(p.s. I'm also very concerned about the so-called 'decriminalisation of rape' - but I know others have asked about that!)

Hi Victoria,

Im uneasy about the amount of porn available on social media sites which are available for young people to join from the age of 13.

Instagram is full of porn models and porn bots, and I feel this is akin to handing out cigarettes outside schools. As the more porn one has access to the more ones tastes escalate.

My question is will the online harm bill tackle this problem and ban porn and its models across all social media sites that can be accessed by under 18s.

My follow up would be, can the online bill also ban social media messaging to accounts of those under 18 to prevent grooming. Tick tock has done this for under 16s, so it can be done but 18 is the age one becomes an adult.

I believe if people knew the extent to which porn has infiliterated childrens lives there would be mass out cry.

Why are you committed to having a separate domestic abuse strategy rather than one VAWG strategy covering everything when NO-ONE in local government, the police, specialist services etc supports this?

Some great questions here on a range of important issues. I look forward to Victoria's responses.

Some excellent questions in this thread. Looking forward to reading the replies.

Hello Victoria
I was a member of the Labour Party until early last year and I left mainly because of their failure to uphold and defend women and girls sex based rights.
I can see that the Conservatives are the only party that still recognise women and I thank you for that, but how do we know you’re not just paying lip service given the massive cuts to council budgets by your government have left women’s refuges having to turn away victims of domestic violence?
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/women-refuge-budget-cut-quarter-domestic-violence-victims-children-support-a8003066.html%3famp

Hi Victoria,

As Home Office Minister for Safeguarding, how can parents protect children from harm via online porn, which includes the normalisation of violence against women, when trusted mainstream sites such as Childline, appear to normalise it?

The pics attached are from the Childline section on Porn. I know that access to the internet and online porn are with us to stay, but I was genuinely shocked that Childline, which is supposed to help safeguard children, should be quite so blasé about it.

I imagine most parents assume that Childline is a website they can trust to protect their kids, rather than advise them that it's totally fine to watch legal porn.

I am concerned that a narrative is developing, as illustrated by a number of questions above, that trans folk, particularly trans women, are a danger as a class. Will the Minister please reassure trans women that their legitimate access to facilities is recognised and that any measures contemplated to improve safeguarding will not impact on law-abiding trans individuals’ ability to live in society with peace, comfort and respect.

@RobinMoiraWhite

I am concerned that a narrative is developing, as illustrated by a number of questions above, that trans folk, particularly trans women, are a danger as a class. Will the Minister please reassure trans women that their legitimate access to facilities is recognised and that any measures contemplated to improve safeguarding will not impact on law-abiding trans individuals’ ability to live in society with peace, comfort and respect.

I disagree. Women are concerned about males as a class. Safeguarding is dependant on recognising that males as a class, in some circumstances are a danger to females as a class. Our concerns are about the breaking down of boundaries and increasing inability to be able to name the problem.

Hello Victoria
Thank you for doing this. I am very concerned about the normalising of porn, and the ease of access to sites such as pornhub to teenagers. I’m interested in how you see this been removed so that girls are not pressured in to violent sex and anal sex as normal. I’d also like to suggest that consideration be given to running the freedom programme in schools at various ages.

Thank you for this important webchat! I agree that there are already so many well articulated questions which cover topics which impact us all, particularly as women and mothers.

My question is about disability rights:
Women’s healthcare is lacking in female centred provision as are disabled facilities and resources, as disabled women are at a greater risk of harm of VAWG how can the government ensure that these women are visible and are having their needs met ?

Hello Victoria
Thanks for joining us.
Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Support Centres are doing a brilliant job around the country, and more needed now than ever. What is the government's plan to provide these essential services with the resources they need?

I'm really looking forward to your responses Victoria

Morning everyone and thanks for your questions

The minister is standing by and ready to go - welcome Victoria!

Hi Victoria,

I echo previous poster's concern about access to extreme pornography for our children.

When teen Vogue is explaining to 13-year-olds how to have anal sex, and if it feels uncomfortable, just use more lubrication, you know we're in trouble. Thirteen years is three years away from legal sex, never mind anal sex.

One girl a day is raped in school. In school.

We are raising a generation of children whose idea of sex is skewed and which heavily centres males with an ever increasing focus on the degradation of women.

We have seen the results of what happens to children in a very short space of time, based on what they learn in school. This must be tackled now.

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all your questions so far and please do keep them coming. I’m looking forward to spending the next hour with you and answering as many as I can.

The reason I’m chatting to you today is to let you know that you can share your views and experiences of violence against women and girls in our survey here: www.gov.uk/homeoffice/VAWG-be-heard. It closes in just over a week and it’s crucial that a lot of people take part, so that our strategy to combat these crimes is inclusive.

Thank you,

Victoria Atkins

@AnnieKenney

Why are you committed to having a separate domestic abuse strategy rather than one VAWG strategy covering everything when NO-ONE in local government, the police, specialist services etc supports this?

Hi @AnnieKenney – as we have seen already in this thread, VAWG covers a huge number of crimes, behaviours and attitudes. I want effective national strategies that reflect the range of harms and the measures we are taking to deal with them. I have been clear throughout our development of these strategies that the Strategies will complement each other. DA is a form of VAWG but it is also the highest harm, highest volume crime type with which we have to deal.

We should, therefore, have a specific national strategy tackling the many forms of DA, which will continue the momentum of the Bill once that has passed into law. But I want the same national attention that has recently been devoted to DA to be extended to other forms of VAWG. Some people have said to me that when DA is discussed, it crowds out discussions about other forms of VAWG. We can change this through a distinct but linked national Strategy. I have reassured our charities that this does not mean that we are de-gendering DA. Our aim in having two strategies is to have twice the focus on crimes that disproportionately affect women and girls. And I can’t agree with the assertion that no one supports this approach – a lot of people see this as the government devoting not one but two national strategies to crimes that disproportionately affect women and girls. Let’s seize this opportunity – please do fill in the public survey!

@ArabellaScott

Hello, Victoria.

There has recently been a spate of government consultations on issues of great importance to women.

At the same time, women are more squeezed than ever due to the pressures of home schooling, and home working. While I've tried to contribute and really am keen to engage, I am time poor and exhausted.

Can there be more done to make it easier for women to take part in these processes?

Hi @ArabellaScott – I hear you! I am juggling home schooling too - after lunch, I will be grappling with long multiplication… Recently, the PM thanked all parents who are teaching as well as working and trying to keep the show on the road at the moment. This is a huge national effort and we know how tough it has been for many families. In terms of the public survey, we have designed it to be as light touch as possible – if you only have 5 mins and can only jot down a couple of points, please do so. We want to reach as many people as possible so that we are picking up on issues that are emerging or that you are worried about. And keep going!

@chestnutSquash

I am increasingly uneasy about the amount of really awful things being posted on social media, including rape and death threats on twitter, conversations between paedophiles in chat rooms, grooming by extremists on facebook. There are always positive aspects to social media but what will/ can the government do to make these companies do something about this?

Hi @chestnutSquash and thanks for your question, and to others who have posted on this. Firstly, I completely agree and understand your concerns about the impact on children. Everyone in government is committed to protecting children from harmful online content. Only yesterday I was meeting tech leaders to discuss what they’re doing to ensure that child sexual abuse images are prevented from going onto the internet and taken down as quickly as possible. We’ve published a response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, interim codes of practice on online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and provided funding for the Internet Watch Foundation’s campaign to tackle youth-produced sexual imagery. We are also investing in the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) dark-web capabilities to tackle the threat of child sexual abuse, which has led to 120 arrests and 261 children safeguarded or protected. All of that being said, there is always more to do and I am deeply committed to this. Just last month we launched our “Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy”, and this is just the start of plenty more work in this area. In the meantime, I strongly recommend parents and children alike look at the “thinkuknow” campaign by the NCA, with some great materials for both you and your kids on how to stay safe online.

Thank you Victoria. I am glad to hear more is being done to address the issues around children. Unfortunately there seem to be few consequences for the( male) paedophiles once arrested.
Do you have any thoughts on the rape and death threats towards women, that are allowed to stand, on twitter?

@BuntingEllacott

Hi Victoria,

As a minister with Safeguarding as explicitly part of your remit, I'm interested to hear how you plan to strengthen and reinforce the existing safeguarding frameworks that have developed as we've learned more about how persistent and devious predators can be. While I welcome your engagement with survivors like myself, I really would like to see firm commitments and action to prevent abuse before it occurs. It seems to me the lack of education about what safeguarding is, and even subtle or overt attempts to undermine it, form the basis for many of the threats to the welfare of women and children today.

Thanks in advance for your answer.

Hi @BuntingEllacott and thank you for your comments. Prevention is critical. The new VAWG Strategy will focus on prevention, driving forward improvements in the effort to target perpetrators, ensuring that we respond to the changing nature of these crimes, and, most importantly, continuing to put victims and survivors at the heart of our approach. As a survivor yourself, let me thank you for taking the time to join our discussion today, and encourage you to take part in the survey, as your views are key to getting this right. If you need any help from specialist services there are links at the end of the survey, and please be assured that this survey is completely anonymous.