WEC to take evidence from Commissioners and domestic abuse charities on support and services for victims of escalated violence
The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) will take evidence on Wednesday, 15 November from the Victims’ Commissioner, Domestic Abuse Commissioner and Victims’ Commissioner for London during the first session of its inquiry into the escalation of violence against women and girls.
Meeting details
The cross-party committee of MPs will hear from Refuge, Women’s Aid and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust during the first panel session on the support available for victims of escalated violence and the patterns of behaviour by perpetrators. The committee will also discuss the escalation of violence from online to offline offences, the effectiveness of existing intervention programmes, plus victims’ experience of the police and criminal justice system.
During the second panel discussion WEC will question Baroness Newlove of Warrington, Victims’ Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner and Claire Waxman OBE, Victims’ Commissioner for London on the adequacy of measures to reduce the risk of harm to women and girls from online content, victims’ assessments of existing perpetrator intervention programmes and victims’ experiences of dealing with the police and criminal justice system.
This session will be the first time the Committee has heard from the newly appointed interim Victims’ Commissioner, Baroness Newlove, who was appointed for a one-year term in October 2023, having previously served in the role between March 2013 and May 2019.
WEC launched its inquiry into the escalation of violence against women and girls in July to understand whether men who commit certain types of crime and non-criminal offences have a higher potential to commit serious acts of violence against women. It is examining the availability and effectiveness of services and interventions to tackle such behaviours.
In recent years, there have been a number of high-profile cases where women have been raped and murdered by perpetrators with a concerning history of offending. The inquiry is looking at whether non-criminal behaviours or non-contact sexual offences can escalate to more serious crimes. It is examining how the police service and wider criminal justice system respond to these behaviours and what interventions are in place to address different types of offending.
Given frequent reports of cases of sexual misconduct by serving officers, notably the fire and police services, the inquiry will also ask if there is a problem in the workplace culture of some public sector organisations.
As part of the committee’s programme of work on preventing violence against women and girls, WEC’s inquiry is looking at perpetrator interventions in a criminal justice setting. The inquiry is looking at the ‘pyramid of offences’ that perpetrators may rise through, leading from offences such as flashing, stalking and revenge porn up to the most serious violent crimes.