Speeches by Davies-Jones.

“We have the Victims’ Commissioner and the Domestic Abuse commissioner. There are number of commissioners where victims and survivors can go to get support already and we would not want to be diluting their roles, voices and core purpose. We have already committed to expanding the role of the Victims’ Commissioner in pr…”

“My understanding is that if the fines are issued by Ofcom—once the Act is implemented next year—that money will come back to the Government.”

“A range of them, in terms of: how do we create the most effective law? What is going to work in this field? Nothing is off the table in our current considerations of how best to proceed in creating these new offences and taking action in that space. I am keen to hear the recommendations from this Committee.”

“We have already talked about redress in terms of civil action that can be taken and so on, directly from perpetrators. I know that one of the things that has been considered is: should victims and survivors be able to take redress from the platforms directly? Again, that should potentially be considered.”

“Yes, under the range of powers that Ofcom has to enforce the Act.”

“They don’t have to wait.”

“Now.”

“indicated assent.”

“The Ofcom guide implementation is next year.”

“Or the threat to create UK law.”

“Yes.”

“I made some previous comments around the courts managing to obtain the devices and getting the content removed. The Sentencing Council is looking at this to see whether the guidance needs to be clearer. It is currently within the courts’ powers to take this. They can do it, and we are—well, the Sentencing Council is—lo…”

“I want to make a quick point on that as well—a political point, if I may, around leadership. We no longer, thankfully, have a Home Secretary who makes spiking jokes or a Prime Minister who makes sexist comments. We have a Home Secretary and a Prime Minister who have made tackling violence against women and girls a poli…”

“We have already talked about what both Departments fund in terms of victim support. The majority of it is done through the MOJ. We have a rape and sexual abuse support fund, which provides £26 million to over 60 specialist support organisations that offer tailored support programmes to all victims, including victims of…”

“The Law Commission have already looked at this. They concluded that it would not be possible to do so. I mean, that does not necessarily mean we cannot, but we respect the Law Commission and their independence in looking at this quite closely. It is also important to note that these non-consensual images do not necessa…”

“This is a complex area, and I know it has been discussed in connection with previous legislation, previous Bills that were brought forward in this House. We need to be very clear that what counts as intimate for one person can be very different for someone else. It can also be different between different communities an…”

“The hon. Lady makes a very good point; she has pre-empted my next sentence. As I have said, this is a start. Ofcom’s codes of practice are being developed and will give it the tools to go after the platforms, but there is nothing stopping the platforms taking decisive action now. They do not need to wait for Ofcom to h…”

“I could not agree more. This is about all of us playing our part and saying that we will not stand for it—we will not be passive bystanders and we will challenge these views to tackle it. It will not happen overnight. It will take time, but I believe we can do it. Women deserve to feel safe, whether that is online or o…”

“I am well aware of the horrific case in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I am pleased that we have been able to go further on intent versus consent with some of these crimes. The right to banter should not trump the right to feel safe; I have said that before in this place and I will say it again. Women have the right to…”

“I was about to come on to therapy, support services and other things that the Ministry of Justice funds to support victims and survivors. My hon. Friend the Member for Bolton North East mentioned redress, and compensation can be made available from the perpetrators directly through the civil courts. That has been pursu…”