Refuge response to proroguing Parliment

In response to the Government’s announcement that it intends to suspend Parliament in September, Sandra Horley CBE, chief executive of national domestic abuse charity Refuge said:

‘The announcement today from the Prime Minister that the current parliamentary session will end in mid-September has the potential to erase years of work towards the Domestic Abuse Bill. The Bill, introduced by Theresa May and awaiting a second reading, aims to put in place much needed changes to current legislation and save lives.

Legislation introduced in the last parliamentary session can be very simply ‘carried over’. We hope that the Prime Minister will make an urgent and unequivocal commitment to ensure the Domestic Abuse Bill is carried over. While parliament is currently dominated by Brexit, we must not let this crucial piece of legislation, years in the making, be pushed into the long grass.

Every week across England and Wales, two women are killed by their current or former partner. Addressing violence against women and girls must be a priority and the Domestic Abuse Bill is the vehicle by which the Government can cement its commitment to so doing.

We hope that the Prime Minister will publicly confirm that his Government’s commitment to addressing violence against women and girls is unwavering by making a clear commitment to ensure the Domestic Abuse Bill will be moved into the next parliamentary session.

For more information contact the Refuge press team on 0207 395 7731.

About Refuge: Refuge is a frontline service provider. It runs specialist domestic violence services across the country and opened the world’s first refuge in 1971. On any given day, it supports more than 6,500 women and children escaping all forms of violence against women and girls.