from Jonathan Davies for Mid Derbyshire https://ift.tt/aMsdEjU
I support this week’s awareness campaign for victims of sexual abuse and sexual violence.
Anyone can suffer from sexual abuse and sexual violence, with women most often the victims. According to Rape Crisis, one in four women have been raped or sexually assaulted since the age of 16.
The government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade. They are issuing strict new restraining orders on domestic abusers which crack down hard on repeat offenders, granting the police powers to proactively manage offenders.
The government is also bringing domestic abuse specialist teams into 999 control rooms to ensure calls for help are treated with the right urgency and victims get the specialist support they need straight away.
The government is also freeing up the number of Crown Court sitting days to 106,500 in a year to reduce the backlog for sexual offence cases.
No one should have to feel scared walking the streets at night or having a fun evening out with friends. No one should feel scared in their own homes, or believe that they cannot speak out against a household member.
We need these initiatives and schemes to be brought in with haste. Sexual abuse and sexual violence victims deserve nothing less.