This Friday, the 8th of March, is International Women’s Day, and for my column this week I wanted to focus on the work the Government is doing to support more women to reach the top table of Britain’s biggest companies and politics, strengthen protections for victims of domestic abuse and crack down on perpetrators of violence against women and girls.
As a woman in politics I am sorry to say that I do receive a
lot of abuse. In fact, research conducted by Amnesty International revealed
that women in politics are 27 times more likely to face abuse online than their
male counterparts.
This is sadly reflected even in local politics too, and just
recently Cornwall Council debated on and passed a motion that recognises the
abuse that Cornwall Councillors and particularly female Cornwall Councillors,
get on a regular basis.
In my time as Member of Parliament for Truro and Falmouth I
have worked hard to champion women’s rights and work with the Government to
better protect women and girls from threats they face.
I have previous shared information on the action the
Government has taken to elevate violence against women and girls to a crime
type that policing leaders must treat as a national threat, as well as
launching the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan and the Tackling Violence Against Women
and Girls Strategy. In 2022 the Government committed over £230 million over
three years in its Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, complementing our £300 million
investment in their 2021 Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy,
supporting victims and survivors.
The Government has also put £125 million into practical
measures like street lighting so that women and girls feel safer at night, and
through the Safer Street Fund and Safety of Women at Night Fund, have invested
£125 million to deliver practical support for women and girls across our
communities, some of this funding which I have been pleased to see deployed in
Falmouth and Penryn to make a real positive difference on our streets for women
and girls.
Online abuse is a real threat and a growing one, and the
Government has acted by protecting women and girls through the Online Safety
Act, delivering on the Government’s commitment to better shield people from
harmful content online. This Act creates a new base offence of intentionally
sharing an intimate image without consent. The Government is also creating a
specific offence of threatening to share intimate image and the sharing of
‘deepfakes’, as well as making Cyberflashing illegal.
The Government is also protecting women by overhauling the
laws to protect women from domestic killers, meaning ex-partners who lash out
at the end of their relationship will face longer than ever behind bars,
protecting vulnerable women, and also introducing longer sentences for partners
who murder following the end of a relationship history of coercive and
controlling behaviour to be a mitigating factor for abused victims who kill
their tormentors.
Finally another step the Government is taking is introducing
a plan to guarantee single-sex spaces, ensuring women and girls feel safe
wherever they are. They are bringing forward changes that will mean all new
non-domestic public and private buildings will be required to provide separate
single-sex toilets, and also ensuring that transgender offenders who have
committed sexual or violent crimes or retain male genitalia will not serve
their sentence in a women’s prison, unless explicitly approved at the highest
level.
There is always more to do, but I am proud of being part of
this Government that takes women’s rights seriously, so we can celebrate women
and our invaluable contribution to all aspects of life, both on International
Women’s Day and throughout the year.
As
always, I am fully focused on the job at hand and if there is ever anything at
all I
can do
to help, then please do not hesitate to contact me. Please get in touch with
me by
email at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk, or by telephone on 01872
229698.
My regular constituency advice surgeries are held in a covid-safe
environment
at my office, so please do get in touch should you wish to meet me
about
any matters that I can be of assistance with.
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