Political party promises to end violence against women and girls

November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and girls (VAWG). The United Nations are calling on people everywhere to stand up and be part of the #16days campaign to highlight the problem and to challenge society to act to end it.

The day was originally organised as commemoration of the assassination of three political activists, the Mirabal sisters, in the Dominican Republic in 1961. As those who campaign for human rights all over the world know, violence against women, sexual violence, and political oppression all too often go hand in hand.

The #16days campaign ends on 10th December which is UN Human Rights Day to make the point that women’s rights are human rights and must be upheld.

We have compared the General Election manifesto promises of three UK parties: Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour.

Below you can see what each party says they will do to end violence against women.

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Conservative Party promises to address violence against women and girls

1. We will support all victims of domestic abuse and pass the Domestic Abuse Bill.
2. We will increase support for refuges and community support for victims of rape and sexual abuse.
3. We will pilot integrated domestic abuse courts that address criminal and family matters in parallel.
4. We will continue to fight crime against women and girls, including rape, Female Genital Mutilation and forced marriage.
5. Our support for the main carer receiving Universal Credit will help give greater independence to individuals, most often women, trapped with coercive partners.
6. We will legislate to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online – protecting children from online abuse and harms, protecting the most vulnerable from accessing harmful content.
7. We will protect people from physical attack or harassment whether for their sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability, and expand funding for and protect places of worship.

Read our analysis of the whole Conservative party manifesto

Liberal Democrats promises to address violence against women and girls

1. Ratify and bringing into law the Istanbul Convention.
2. Legislating for a statutory definition of domestic abuse that includes its effects on children. Expanding the number of refuges and rape crisis centres.
3. Ensuring sustainable funding for specialist independent support services.
4. Giving local authorities the duty and funding to provide accommodation for survivors of abuse. Establishing a national rape crisis helpline.
5. Ensuring access to special measures for survivors in all courts and preventing direct cross-examination of survivors by their abusers.
6. Ensure sufficient financial resources for local authorities to deliver the Homelessness Reduction Act and provide accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse.
7. Tackle bullying in schools, including bullying on the basis of gender, sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression, by promoting pastoral leadership in schools and delivering high-quality sex and relationships education
8. Pursue a foreign agenda… working to extend reproductive rights and end female genital mutilation; and ending sexual violence in conflict zones.

Read our analysis of the whole Liberal Democrat party manifesto

Labour Party promises to address violence against women and girls

1. We will ratify both the Istanbul Convention on preventing domestic abuse and the ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment at work.
2. We will set new standards for tackling domestic and sexual abuse and violence, and appoint a Commissioner for Violence against Women and Girls.
3. We will establish an independent review into shamefully low rape prosecution rates
4. We will establish a National Refuge Fund, ensure financial stability for rape crisis centres and reintroduce a Domestic Abuse Bill.
5. Create a safer society for women and prioritise domestic abuse as a health issue, introduce 10 days of paid leave for survivors of domestic abuse, and ensure women’s refuges receive the long-term sustainable funding they need.
6. Misogyny and violence against women and girls will become hate crimes.
7. We will enforce a legal duty of care to protect our children online, impose fines on companies that fail on online abuse and empower the public with a Charter of Digital Rights.
8. We will introduce protections for victims of so-called revenge porn.
9. We will improve the safety of the family court system for domestic violence victims and prohibit their cross-examination by their abuser.
10. We will ensure better police training on domestic abuse and offences arising from coercive control, as well as historical abuses and other crimes neglected by the reduced forces operating under Tory austerity.
11. Implement a gender transformative approach across all our international work, including tripling funding for grassroots women’s organisations and establishing an independent ombudsman to tackle abuse in the development sector.

Read our analysis of the whole Labour party manifesto

#orangetheworld #GenerationEquality #16days,