Richard Holden MP Attends Domestic Abuse Artwork Display on International Women's Day.
On the day and the artwork, Richard comments:
"Today we celebrated International Women's Day a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women in our towns and villages and across the world and also a point to raise important issues.
"On the day and this week as a whole, it give us a moment to reflect on the strong and courageous women we have been lucky to know. I think of my mam and grandmothers, and many friends and colleagues.
"Alongside celebrating their achievements, we should also reflect on the daily violence that women face by some men. In Parliament this week there has been a display entitled 'Domestic', which highlights every woman who has been killed by a man from 2014-2020. Each symbol on these plates represent the way in which a woman died at the hands of a domestic abuser: a husband, partner, ex-partner, son, grandson, stepson, etc. It highlighted the amount of work still to be done.
"The Government's Domestic Abuse Act 2021 is a significant step in the right direction. It will, among other things, create a statutory definition of domestic abuse, emphasising that domestic abuse is not just physical violence, but can also be emotional, controlling or coercive, and economic abuse.
"In my own capacity, I was glad to have passed the banning of the so-called Virginity Testing and banning Hymenoplasty as part of the Health and Social Care Act. It was a long and hard campaign, but I am hopeful that this will result in less young women being 'tested' on pseudo-scientifically. I have been also pleased to sit on the Bill Committee for raising the legal age of marriage to 18.
"As war rages in Ukraine, I think it's also worth reflecting on those Ukrainian women fighting or trying to flee their once peaceful home for the safety of their children. And also of the Russia mothers, wives and girlfriends who Putin is killing in his war of aggression. Both groups know they may never see their partners or their children's fathers again."