Victoria Atkins MP

Minister for Safeguarding

2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
www.gov.uk/home-office

7th July 2020

Dear all,

Thank you for your letter of 21 May about ‘honour-based’ abuse and domestic abuse
within BAME communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Please accept my sincere
apologies for the delay in responding.

Domestic abuse and ‘honour-based’ abuse (HBA) are abhorrent at any time and I
recognise that the very necessary steps which we have taken to safeguard public
health are likely to place some people in an even more vulnerable situation. I would
like to assure you that the Government takes these crimes extremely seriously and
that we have taken steps to ensure that victims of HBA (including forced marriage
and FGM) and BAME victims of domestic abuse are supported during the pandemic.

As you mention in your letter, in April the Home Secretary announced £2 million in
funding to ensure that vital helplines and online services continue to be easily
accessible to those who need them. This funding could be used for equipment, the
further development of applications or tools, capacity building of existing services or
associated staffing costs. Around £1.2 million of this funding has already been
allocated and I am pleased that Karma Nirvana, who are funded annually by the
Home Office, have been allocated a further £37,500 to provide immediate additional
support to victims via the national ‘Honour-Based’ Abuse Helpline and up to £10,000
to support a communications campaign on HBA.

The Chancellor also announced a funding package of £750 million to support

charities, including those providing domestic abuse services. On 2 May it was
confirmed that £76 million of this funding would support survivors of domestic abuse,
sexual violence and modern slavery as well as ensuring that vulnerable children and
young people continue to get the help they need.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have announced that
£8.15 million of this funding will be granted to 147 providers of safe accommodation
services across all regions of England. The Home Office launched a £2 million fund
for national and regional domestic abuse services and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
announced a £10 million fund for local domestic abuse services already
commissioned by PCCs as well as a £5 million fund for local domestic abuse
services not currently commissioned by PCCs. Both the Home Office and MoJ funds
were open to organisations which provide support to victims of HBA, forced marriage
and FGM.

The Tampon Tax Fund is also continuing to support work in this area and the fund for
2020/21 sought proposals that reach women and communities from BAME groups.
Further information can be found on the Gov.uk website.

We are working closely with charities to reach out to victims to ensure that they can
access help. Our #YouAreNotAlone campaign signposts the support available, and
organisations supporting victims of HBA and FGM, and BAME victims of domestic
abuse, are included in the support services listed. The campaign will now also
include a focus on reaching BAME communities directly, and this will contain
reference to specific messages about HBA, forced marriage and FGM as aspects of
domestic abuse.

We continue to seek ways to offer more protections for victims and to tackle
perpetrators – a commitment demonstrated in the reintroduction of a strengthened
Domestic Abuse Bill. In parallel, as set out in your letter, on 21 May the Prime
Minister hosted a virtual summit on hidden harms, building on existing work across
Government to shine a light on domestic abuse and other devastating crimes during
the Covid-19 crisis. I was pleased to chair a subsequent academic roundtable on
hidden harms and domestic abuse, which was attended by one of the co-signatories
of your letter, Professor Aisha K. Gill Ph.D. CBE. Professor Gill shared her
reflections on the impact the Covid-19 crisis is having on BAME-led charities and
made suggestions on how to address the needs of BAME communities specifically.
Her contribution is helping to inform our thinking on ‘deep dives’ on domestic abuse
and HBA within police forces during the pandemic as well as the proactive policing
response to domestic abuse more broadly. I can assure you that the summit and
roundtable were not the end of the conversation, but the beginning of policy work to
ensure that we tackle all forms of hidden harms effectively.

The joint Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit
remains fully operational and continues to operate a public helpline service to support
those affected by forced marriage. It has publicised its continued availability through
various channels and has shared data on its current call volumes with its
stakeholders. Forced Marriage and FGM Protection Orders are also part of the work
which the family courts have confirmed must continue to be carried out during the
lockdown period.

I am extremely grateful for the ongoing work which the co-signatories of this letter
undertake to protect and support victims and would like to thank you for writing on
this important matter.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Atkins MP