Report On Map Of Gaps: Funding Violence Against Women Services

EDM number 653 in 2008-09, proposed by Julie Morgan on 02/02/2009.
Categorised under the topics of Crimes of violence and Sexual offences.

That this House welcomes the `Map of Gaps' report and website by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the End Violence Against Women coalition; notes with alarm that three million women across the UK experience violence each year; further notes that over a quarter of local authority areas across Britain have no specialised violence against women support services such as rape crisis centres, refuges, domestic violence outreach projects and services for black and minority ethnic women; recognises the need for local authorities and other public bodies to undertake needs assessments under their gender equality schemes and to ensure both sufficiency and diversity of provision; encourages local strategic partnerships to prioritise tackling violence against women, including within local area agreements; welcomes the Government's commitment to consult on a Violence Against Women strategy; and calls on the Government urgently to establish a funding strategy and work with local strategic partnerships to ensure that women's access to support does not depend on where they live.

This motion has been signed by a total of 87 MPs, 3 of these signatures have been withdrawn.