19 June 2007
Harriet Harman speaks at the TUC's 'Working Together: Trade Unions campaigning to end violence against women' conference and underlines the key to tackling domestic violence is working together.
Justice Minister Harriet Harman MP will speak at the TUC's 'Working Together: Trade Unions campaigning to end violence against women' conference in London today and will underline the key to tackling domestic violence is working together.
Nationally 37,383 people were convicted for domestic violence which represents convictions in 65% of all cases brought to court in 2006/07.
Speaking at the launch, Ms Harman, Minister at the Ministry of Justice, said:
There is never any excuse for resorting to violence. We must keep challenging the culture of excuses to ensure that everyone can live in their own homes free of fear.
I am pleased to be here at the TUC to highlight the work that trade unions are doing to tackle violence against women.
It is important that victims of domestic violence have the confidence in the criminal justice system to report these crimes so that many women report assaults confident that the system will help them.
Notes to Editors
1. Harriet Harman will give the keynote speech at the TUC's 'Working Together: Trade Unions campaigning to end violence against women' conference in London today.
2. Domestic violence key statistics:
- accounts for 17-25 percent of all violent crime;
- claims the lives of two women each week and 30 men per year;
- has more repeat victims than any other crime (on average there will have been 35 assaults before a victim calls the police);
- costs in excess of £23bn a year;
- is the largest cause of morbidity world-wide in women aged 19-44, greater than war, cancer or motor vehicle accidents;
- prosecutions for domestic violence increased from just under 3,000 in November 2004 to over 4,500 in January 2006.
- 64 percent of all murdered women are killed by their partner, ex partner or lover.
3. For more information please call Zoë Campbell, Ministry of Justice Press Office, 020 7210 8695.
ENDS