0:00:16 > 0:00:19Hello and welcome to Thursday in Parliament.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Coming up, it's an emotional afternoon in the Commons as female
0:00:23 > 0:00:26MPs speak of their experience of rape and sexual violence.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30I didn't tell my mother, I didn't tell my father,
0:00:30 > 0:00:34I didn't tell my friends, and I didn't tell the police.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Peers debate what Brexit will mean for our defence.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40And there are calls for a complete ban on the trade
0:00:40 > 0:00:43in ivory in an attempt to save the world's elephants.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47It is estimated that some 30%, perhaps 144,000, have disappeared
0:00:47 > 0:00:50in the past seven years.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53But first, an MP has moved colleagues to tears,
0:00:53 > 0:00:59after revealing she was raped at 14.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Michelle Thomson shared her personal story during
0:01:01 > 0:01:03a Commons debate focused on the UN International Day
0:01:03 > 0:01:05For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Today, I am going to relay an event that happened to me many years ago
0:01:09 > 0:01:14and I wanted to give a very personal perspective to help people in this
0:01:14 > 0:01:17place and outside understand one element
0:01:17 > 0:01:21of sexual violence against women.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24When I was 14, I was raped.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28As is common, it was by somebody who was known to me.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31He had offered to walk me home from a youth event and,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33in those days, everybody walked everywhere,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36it was quite common to do that.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38It was early evening, wasn't dark, I was wearing -
0:01:38 > 0:01:43I'm imagining, I'm guessing - jeans and a sweatshirt.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I knew my way around where I lived.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49I was very comfortable and we did go a slightly different way,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52but I didn't think anything of it.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55He asked me, he told me he wanted to show me
0:01:55 > 0:01:57something in a wooded area and, at that point,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00I must admit I was alarmed.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05I did have a warning bell, but I overrode that warning bell,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09because I knew him and therefore there was a level of trust in place.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12And to be honest, looking back at that point, I don't think
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I knew what rape was.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17It was not something that was talked about.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20My mother never talked to me about it.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23I didn't hear other girls or other women talking about it.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25It was mercifully quick and I remember first
0:02:25 > 0:02:31of all feeling surprise, then fear, then horror,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34as I realised I quite simply couldn't escape.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Because obviously, he was stronger than me.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39And there was no sense, even initially, of any
0:02:39 > 0:02:42sexual desire from him, which I suppose looking
0:02:42 > 0:02:45back again I find odd.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48My senses were absolutely numb
0:02:48 > 0:02:53and, thinking about it now 37 years later, I remember...
0:02:53 > 0:02:58I cannot remember hearing anything when I replay it in my mind.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Afterwards, I walked home alone, I was crying, I was cold
0:03:01 > 0:03:04and I was shivering and I now realise of course that
0:03:04 > 0:03:05was the shock response.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08I didn't tell my mother, I didn't tell my father,
0:03:08 > 0:03:13I didn't tell my friends, and I didn't tell the police.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17I bottled it all up inside me.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20I hoped, briefly and appallingly, that I might be pregnant,
0:03:20 > 0:03:26so that that would force a situation to help you control it.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29so that that would force a situation to help me control it.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31And, of course, without support, the capacity and resources I had
0:03:31 > 0:03:34within me to process it were a very limited.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I was very ashamed, I was ashamed that I had allowed this to happen
0:03:37 > 0:03:40to me and I had a whole range of internal conversations
0:03:40 > 0:03:42about "I should've known!" "Why did I go that way?"
0:03:42 > 0:03:44"Why did I walk home with him?"
0:03:44 > 0:03:45"Why didn't I understand the danger?"
0:03:45 > 0:03:49I deserved it because I was too this, I was too that!
0:03:49 > 0:03:53I felt that I was spoilt and impure.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57And I really felt revulsion towards myself.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00A rape happens when a man makes a decision to hurt someone
0:04:00 > 0:04:03he feels he can control.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Rapes happen because of the rapist, not because of the victim.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08WOMEN: Hear, hear.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11And we women, and our society, have to stand up for each other.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14We have to be courageous.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17We have to call things out and say where things are wrong.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20We have to support and nurture our sisters as we do with our sons.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Like many women of my age, I have on occasion encountered other
0:04:23 > 0:04:27aggressive actions towards me, both in business and in fact
0:04:27 > 0:04:33in politics, but one thing I realise now is that I'm not scared,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37and he was. I'm not scared.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40I'm not a victim. I'm a survivor.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45ALL: Hear, hear!
0:04:46 > 0:04:50I thank the honourable lady for what she has said and the way
0:04:50 > 0:04:53in which she said it, which has left an indelible
0:04:53 > 0:04:56impression upon us all.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Mims Davies.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Thank you, Mr Speaker.
0:05:03 > 0:05:09Um, it's an unbelievable thing to follow on from the member
0:05:09 > 0:05:12for Edinburgh West, after she's shared a horrific event
0:05:12 > 0:05:19from 37 years ago, but as a mother of two daughters, um,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23understanding the impact of being a 14-year-old affected
0:05:23 > 0:05:29by that incident, it's, er...
0:05:29 > 0:05:31And the explanation of the sense of blame and shame,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35it's very hard to comprehend.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39I was 20 and the worst thing that I could ever imagine happening to me
0:05:39 > 0:05:41was about to take place.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44I was going to be one of those very rare statistics of a woman
0:05:44 > 0:05:48who is attacked by a stranger, not by someone she knows.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51I was in my second year at university.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54The man had seen me walk past his car and had waited ahead
0:05:54 > 0:05:56for me to turn the corner.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00As I came up against him, all those words of advice your mum gives you -
0:06:00 > 0:06:02"Knee him where it hurts then run like hell!" -
0:06:02 > 0:06:04well, they disappeared! I was frozen in fear.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08As he shoved me to the ground, trying to rape me, I fought back,
0:06:08 > 0:06:09but I was battered.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11It was only the community-spirited Indian neighbour further down
0:06:11 > 0:06:14the road that saved me from something much worse.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16However, Madame Deputy Speaker,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20I count myself as one of the lucky ones.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22I had managed to memorise his car number plate
0:06:22 > 0:06:26and he was caught an hour later. He went to court, not many do.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27He pleaded guilty.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30I didn't have to go through the horrors of a trial.
0:06:30 > 0:06:31He was sentenced.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33I didn't have to look over my shoulder,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36checking if he was following me. He was a stranger.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39I didn't have to wake up in the same bed as him,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41go to work with him as my boss.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43He didn't use a broken bottle to hurt me.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47He was alone and not with a group of other men.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50It was only once and not several times.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54The point to this story is that, even though on the scale of violence
0:06:54 > 0:06:57against women I was lucky, because justice was done,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00the following few years were hard.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03I got afraid walking alone, so I bought a bike.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05I got scared in the night, I slept with a knife.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09I was easily startled and cried at the drop of a hat.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13But Madame Deputy Speaker, again, I was lucky.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16I didn't have a job to keep down, children to care for,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18elderly relatives to see to, I could work my way
0:07:18 > 0:07:21through the impact of this violent assault at my own speed
0:07:21 > 0:07:25and in my own space.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27The debate had been opened by a Labour MP.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Worldwide, an estimated one in three women experience
0:07:30 > 0:07:35physical or sexual violence. That is a staggering statistic!
0:07:35 > 0:07:38The World Health Organisation highlights that, as well as being
0:07:38 > 0:07:41a human rights issue, violence against women is
0:07:41 > 0:07:44a major public health issue, with women who have experienced
0:07:44 > 0:07:48violence more likely to have babies with low birth weight
0:07:48 > 0:07:52and experience depression.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Each year in the UK, up to 3 million women
0:07:54 > 0:07:57experience violence and, on average, one woman dies
0:07:57 > 0:08:02in Britain at the hands of a man every three days.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04The Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee called
0:08:04 > 0:08:09for compulsory sex and relationship education in schools.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12We mustn't continue just attacking the symptoms of this problem
0:08:12 > 0:08:14of violence against women, we also have to tackle
0:08:14 > 0:08:17the root causes as well.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20The sort of behaviour that some of us had to experience,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23perhaps in the workplace 30 years ago, is now something
0:08:23 > 0:08:28we would not tolerate, yet we are insisting that young
0:08:28 > 0:08:30people keep quiet, don't speak out and don't get the support
0:08:30 > 0:08:36that they need when they experience that sort of behaviour at schools.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40I want to start by paying my heartfelt thanks to the member
0:08:40 > 0:08:43from Edinburgh West.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47You know, to hear her talking about her rape
0:08:47 > 0:08:51when she was 14 years old, and breaking that taboo by talking
0:08:51 > 0:08:55about it in this place, was truly remarkable.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58She said the government had launched a new strategy in March and provided
0:08:58 > 0:09:03?80 million in funding, alongside strengthening the law.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05And she turned to education.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09We must do more to educate children about healthy relationships,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13including sexual relationships.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Indeed that no must mean no in every circumstance.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20There is a huge amount of determination
0:09:20 > 0:09:24and ongoing work to deliver this.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Now, she's absolutely right to say we all need to talk about it and,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31as a mother of three children, I can see it can be a bit
0:09:31 > 0:09:34embarrassing, not least for my children, to have to sit down
0:09:34 > 0:09:36and talk about this. SOME LAUGHTER
0:09:36 > 0:09:39I think my son has just about recovered from having to talk
0:09:39 > 0:09:42to his mum about online porn!
0:09:42 > 0:09:44But she made no promises on compulsory sex and relationship
0:09:44 > 0:09:49education in schools in England.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Now, on Wednesday night, a clear majority of MPs backed
0:09:52 > 0:09:54the government's timetable for beginning the UK's
0:09:54 > 0:09:57exit from the EU.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59A motion tabled by Labour, but amended by the government,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03explicitly stated that Article 50, initiating Brexit, would be invoked
0:10:03 > 0:10:07by the end of March.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08It was supported by 461 MPs.
0:10:08 > 0:10:1175 voted against.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13When the Commons gathered on Thursday, there were very
0:10:13 > 0:10:17different interpretations of what had happened.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20The Shadow Leader of the Commons thought it was the Prime Minister
0:10:20 > 0:10:22who'd shifted position, by accepting elements of labour's
0:10:22 > 0:10:24original motion demanding the government publish a plan
0:10:24 > 0:10:29for its negotiations before Article 50 was triggered.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Yesterday, Mr Speaker, the government finally
0:10:31 > 0:10:35accepted they needed a plan, a strategy, a framework.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37SOME: Hear, hear!
0:10:37 > 0:10:39The Leader of the House may have said that the opposition
0:10:39 > 0:10:41were quarrelling, like Mutiny on the Bounty
0:10:41 > 0:10:45as reshot by the Carry On team!
0:10:45 > 0:10:47A genre I'm sure the British Film Institute are rapidly thinking,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49"Where does this fall?"
0:10:49 > 0:10:52And can I remind the Leader of the House that it was
0:10:52 > 0:10:5440 government MPs who were going to vote on the opposition motion...
0:10:54 > 0:10:56SHOUTING.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59..which then resulted in the Prime Minister, from Bahrain,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03to concede to the Labour motion.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06I think what was very striking about the vote
0:11:06 > 0:11:11last night was that, for the first time, the opposition
0:11:11 > 0:11:15front bench and most but not all Labour members of Parliament
0:11:15 > 0:11:19accepted the Prime Minister's timetable to trigger Article 50
0:11:19 > 0:11:25by the end of March 2017 and, given that the Shadow Foreign
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Secretary had said as recently as September that we ought to go
0:11:29 > 0:11:34back to the people before taking a final decision to leave the EU,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38that suggests a possibly welcome change of heart
0:11:38 > 0:11:40on the part of the opposition.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43I hope that it is genuine and sustained.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45David Lidington.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47"It is a tragedy that, when problems are global,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49politics has gone local."
0:11:49 > 0:11:51That's the view of Lord Robertson,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53who was once Secretary General of Nato.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56He was speaking in a debate about the impact of Brexit
0:11:56 > 0:11:58on the UK's defences.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Several peers said that, with the UK outside the EU,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04it should raise its game in Nato and forge alliances
0:12:04 > 0:12:06with France and Germany.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10The government insisted it was not turning its back on the world.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16The post-war settlement is unravelling.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20The referendum result, the disobliging comments about Nato
0:12:20 > 0:12:25from President-elect Trump and the rise of the far right
0:12:25 > 0:12:30populism in Europe all make that abundantly clear.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34If Nato and the EU are now in danger of crumbling away,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38we do need an urgent rethink of our domestic policies
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and priorities.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Lord Robertson said leaving the EU would have a huge impact
0:12:44 > 0:12:47on the UK's defence forces.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49It will certainly affect our Armed Forces and diplomatic service
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and not for the better.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Leaving will damage the UK and its reputation and influence,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01leaving will damage the EU and its partnership with Nato,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05tackling the myriad of problems and challenges and perils
0:13:05 > 0:13:09which will face us in the world today.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14And by opting out as a key player in the EU side of that partnership
0:13:14 > 0:13:18that was re-forged this week, it will weaken Nato at a time
0:13:18 > 0:13:23when the alliance has never been historically more needed.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27I think it is a tragedy at the moment that just
0:13:27 > 0:13:32as the problems that we face - of migration, of terrorism,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36of a resurgent Russia, of pandemics, proliferation and much,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40much more, the issues have gone global and the politics have gone
0:13:40 > 0:13:45local and far too parochial for the safety of our people.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49One thing seems to me to be crystal clear,
0:13:49 > 0:13:55having taken the decision to Brexit, Britain is now much,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59much, much more alone and our defence choices are far,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03far starker than they were in the hours before
0:14:03 > 0:14:09President Trump was elected, one month and one week ago.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Before, during the Brexit debate, we argued that we didn't need
0:14:12 > 0:14:16the European Union because we had Nato.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19We now have an isolationist American President who has made it
0:14:19 > 0:14:23perfectly clear in his speeches that he doesn't much believe in Nato
0:14:23 > 0:14:27and doesn't even mind seeing it being unstitched.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31I have a suspicion that what will happen in the next few
0:14:31 > 0:14:35weeks is that words will be dragged out of President Trump's mouth that
0:14:35 > 0:14:38says he didn't really mean that and he does believe in Nato,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42but Nato and alliances do not depend as much on words as they do
0:14:42 > 0:14:45on will and no one can doubt that the will of an isolationist
0:14:45 > 0:14:48American President, who admires President Putin,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52is not going to be the same as the will we have experienced
0:14:52 > 0:14:57before from our partners across the Atlantic by any measure.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00There is one thing that will not change and that is the relationship
0:15:00 > 0:15:02between our security in these islands and the security
0:15:02 > 0:15:05of the rest of Europe.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08We cannot change our geography by referendum.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11The safety of Europe is our safety.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14We long ago gave up the idea of national defence in favour
0:15:14 > 0:15:17of collective security and nothing that has happened over the past
0:15:17 > 0:15:20months has changed that.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23We may be looking to renationalise aspects of our economic
0:15:23 > 0:15:27and legal structures but re-nationalising our defence
0:15:27 > 0:15:30is simply not practical.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34The government has made it clear that as we leave the EU,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36we will not be turning our back on the world.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39The UK remains a permanent member of the UN Security Council,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43the second-largest contributor to Nato and a leading
0:15:43 > 0:15:46member of the G7, the G20 and the Commonwealth.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50We take these responsibilities seriously and we will continue to be
0:15:50 > 0:15:55a strong and influential European voice on the world stage,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58promoting and defending global peace and security
0:15:58 > 0:16:00and promoting our trade interests.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03And he said the UK had strong relations with other EU countries.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Our defence relationship with France is growing
0:16:06 > 0:16:10all the time and is building on the Lancaster House
0:16:10 > 0:16:12agreement that underpins it.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Germany is now a Tier 1 country with United States and France
0:16:15 > 0:16:19in the SDSR 2015 and we have growing relationships with
0:16:19 > 0:16:22many other countries.
0:16:22 > 0:16:28You are watching Thursday in Parliament with me, Alicia McCarthy.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33On Wednesday, a man was found guilty of the racially aggravated
0:16:33 > 0:16:36harassment of the Labour MP Luciana Berger after posting
0:16:37 > 0:16:41a series of anti-Semitic rants.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Joshua Bonehill-Paine wrote five hate-filled blogs harassing
0:16:44 > 0:16:48the Liverpool Wavertree MP.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Speaking after the verdict, Ms Berger insisted racist abuse
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and harassment over the internet is an horrific crime.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58In the Commons, MPs wanted to know what the government was doing
0:16:58 > 0:17:01to tackle all sorts of hate crimes.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Like many others in this chamber, I was very concerned about the spike
0:17:04 > 0:17:14in the number of racial and religious aggravated
0:17:14 > 0:17:17offences after the referendum.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Can my honourable and learned friend please tell the house
0:17:19 > 0:17:21whether that trend has continued in recent months?
0:17:21 > 0:17:24My honourable friend is right to raise this issue because I think
0:17:24 > 0:17:27we were all concerned with the spike that clearly occurred
0:17:27 > 0:17:29after the referendum.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31The total number of racial and religiously aggravated offences
0:17:31 > 0:17:34being reported in July this year was 41% higher than
0:17:34 > 0:17:38the previous year.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41But I am happy to report the number of that type of reported offence has
0:17:41 > 0:17:44now declined and are at similar levels to before the referendum.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45Sir David Amess.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Would my honourable friend look very carefully at the law
0:17:49 > 0:17:53relating to abusive and offensive online posts?
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Often when I look at these remarks, particularly when someone has died,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00it is quite incredible that newspapers seem to host these posts
0:18:00 > 0:18:03when I think these cowards should have their names and addresses
0:18:03 > 0:18:07printed along with the offensive post.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12My honourable friend raises a proper point of increasing concern.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Can I assure him that anonymity perceived or real is not an escape
0:18:15 > 0:18:20route for perpetrators.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24The use of false online profiles and websites still mean
0:18:24 > 0:18:28they are traceable and these people can and will be pursued just
0:18:28 > 0:18:32like the appalling individual who only this week was convicted
0:18:32 > 0:18:35of offences arising from a racist campaign against the honourable
0:18:35 > 0:18:38member for Liverpool Wavertree.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40On the ground in north Wales, the number of prosecutions
0:18:40 > 0:18:43generally is falling.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46And for that reason, how can we ensure that public
0:18:46 > 0:18:49perceptions are reflected in prosecuting policy so that more
0:18:49 > 0:18:53individuals who commit crime get taken to court and dealt
0:18:53 > 0:18:58with by magistrates who tell me that their courts are empty?
0:18:58 > 0:19:02I am obviously following the position very carefully
0:19:02 > 0:19:06in all parts of England and Wales and he is right to say
0:19:06 > 0:19:10there are some areas like his where there has not been
0:19:10 > 0:19:13the rise we have seen in others.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16I think what we have to do is further encourage consistency,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19the training that has been rolled out in recent months
0:19:19 > 0:19:22to all the CPS areas, I think needs to bed in.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26And I think with that approach, we will see a rise across the board
0:19:26 > 0:19:29in not just the prosecution of these offences but the confidence
0:19:29 > 0:19:33of victims to come forward.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Would the Attorney General agree that the prosecution of hate crimes
0:19:37 > 0:19:43has helped when the victim feels supported enough to give evidence
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and that more training must be provided by the teams that deal
0:19:46 > 0:19:49with hate crimes UK wide to ensure that all possible support
0:19:49 > 0:19:52is afforded to victims and their families?
0:19:52 > 0:19:54The honourable gentleman knows from his experience
0:19:54 > 0:19:58in Northern Ireland that the Leonard Cheshire Disability
0:19:58 > 0:20:02organisation have an excellent scheme in place to support victims.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05And it really echoes the point I was making earlier about the need
0:20:05 > 0:20:08for such best practice to be spread to give better support.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Now, let's go back to the Lords where a Peer raised a report that
0:20:11 > 0:20:15showed more than 300 police officers have been accused of
0:20:15 > 0:20:18using their position to sexually exploit people,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21including victims of crime.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary said that abuse
0:20:24 > 0:20:27of authority for sexual gain is now the most serious form of corruption
0:20:27 > 0:20:31facing police in England and Wales.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34In the Lords, a Peer raised this and the latest
0:20:34 > 0:20:37figures from Women's Aid on violence against women.
0:20:37 > 0:20:4176% of women killed by their ex-partner or ex-spouse
0:20:41 > 0:20:45were killed in the first year of separation.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49But today, we hear, on top of this, that hundreds of police officers
0:20:49 > 0:20:52have abused their position of trust to sexually exploit
0:20:52 > 0:20:58vulnerable people.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Could the noble lady and the Minister say
0:21:02 > 0:21:05what the government is doing to protect and help women
0:21:05 > 0:21:09at dangerous and vulnerable times and particularly those who manage
0:21:09 > 0:21:12to leave abusive relationships to start a new life?
0:21:12 > 0:21:18The figures that are released today are absolutely stark and we welcome
0:21:18 > 0:21:23the work that Women's Aid has done on the femicide census
0:21:23 > 0:21:27and we are committed to working in partnership with them
0:21:27 > 0:21:31to help to improve the response to domestic homicide.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36It turned to the revelations about the police.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40It is important to remember that HMRC findings relate to a very small
0:21:40 > 0:21:44number of police officers of staff and the vast majority of over
0:21:44 > 0:21:49200,000 police personnel are dedicated and passionate
0:21:49 > 0:21:52about protecting the public.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56The College of Policing will be releasing updated guidance on police
0:21:56 > 0:21:59and media relationships in the New Year but also the College
0:21:59 > 0:22:03of Policing has been asked to consider further the feasibility
0:22:03 > 0:22:08of developing a new supplementary addendum on the Code of Ethics
0:22:08 > 0:22:13but that is to take nothing away from the shocking findings of today.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16A Conservative MP has called for emergency action
0:22:16 > 0:22:21to save the African elephant.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Currently, tens of thousands of elephants are killed by poachers
0:22:24 > 0:22:28every single year to steal and sell their tusks.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31While there is an international ban on buying and selling
0:22:31 > 0:22:33ivory to other countries, it is still possible to buy
0:22:33 > 0:22:37and sell certain kinds of ivory within countries.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40The UK Government recently announced it is to spend an extra ?13 million
0:22:40 > 0:22:44on new ways to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Jeremy Lefroy said that the elephant population in sub-Saharan Africa had
0:22:48 > 0:22:52declined dramatically over the past decade.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56It is estimated that some 30%, perhaps 144,000 have disappeared
0:22:56 > 0:22:59in the past seven years, substantially as a
0:22:59 > 0:23:02result of poaching.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Estimates of the remaining population vary but perhaps there
0:23:05 > 0:23:09are as few as 400,000 to 450,000.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12This is an emergency and it requires emergency action.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15But the President of the British Antique Dealers Association spoke
0:23:15 > 0:23:20out against a total ban.
0:23:20 > 0:23:28The purchaser of a carved ivory medieval Christian diptych is not
0:23:28 > 0:23:32the same buyer because it is them wanting the ivory because it is
0:23:32 > 0:23:36a beautifully worked piece which is culturally and historically
0:23:36 > 0:23:40significant, that happens to be made of ivory.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45It is not the same as modern-day trinkets.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50To ban the sale of 18th-century cabinets inlaid with small pieces
0:23:50 > 0:23:55of ivory or an 18th-century portrait miniature painted on a sliver
0:23:55 > 0:23:59of ivory, in order to stop Far Eastern buyers from purchasing
0:23:59 > 0:24:04contemporary carved Buddhas or trinkets, makes no sense.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07I did find the Member for Kensington's remarks
0:24:07 > 0:24:13quite objectionable.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15In fact calling it a beautiful worked piece -
0:24:15 > 0:24:18it was a beautiful elephant once.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22Calling it artworks - what is artistic about murder?
0:24:22 > 0:24:24And therefore, what I would say is, whilst these pieces may be
0:24:24 > 0:24:32in existence, they should no longer be traded and therefore,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35we would bring a total ban from these benches across all ivory.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39The Minister said a poacher could earn more than in one night
0:24:39 > 0:24:42than in five years in other jobs.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44We do need to raise awareness to Asian consumers
0:24:44 > 0:24:47about the devastating impact they are having on
0:24:47 > 0:24:49elephant populations.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52And we need to inform, engage with and ultimately change
0:24:52 > 0:24:55behaviour and I think we saw leadership as was referred
0:24:55 > 0:24:58to by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge when he visited Hanoi
0:24:58 > 0:25:00recently alongside my right honourable friend, the Secretary
0:25:00 > 0:25:03of State and that kind of engagement I think is a key part
0:25:03 > 0:25:05of what the UK leadership can do.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08To achieve this, we need to change the dynamics of the market,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10we need to reduce not just the availability but also
0:25:10 > 0:25:13the acceptability of trade and ivory and that is why in the UK we're
0:25:13 > 0:25:15looking at our own market.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Other countries such as the US have taken action and we want see
0:25:18 > 0:25:20concerted international action and most importantly,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23we want to see action from China to follow through on the commitments
0:25:23 > 0:25:24they have made to close their market.
0:25:24 > 0:25:25Therese Coffey.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30And that is it for me for now but do join me on Friday night at 11pm
0:25:30 > 0:25:32for a round-up of the week here at Westminster.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34When among other things, we will be talking to Lord Cormack
0:25:34 > 0:25:38about the size of the House of Lords and hearing from two of Parliament's
0:25:38 > 0:25:40newest MPs about what it is like to join the Commons.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45But from now from me, Alicia McCarthy, goodbye.