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Mrs. Cryer: I would prefer not to discuss the primary purpose rule at this point—I could go on about it for quite some time, but I was not a Member of Parliament when it was being used, so I cannot comment on it. However, my late husband was a Member of Parliament at the time, and I know that he had some problems with it. There were problems, and that is why it was removed, but I agree that that did open to a certain extent the floodgates to the problems that I am dealing with. I also agree that it would be difficult to get young girls to come forward to give evidence against their parents that could well put them in prison, but we need to do this as a shot across the bows. No, we shall not have many prosecutions, but the very existence of a criminal law on that subject would be helpful to us when we try to help those girls.

Mr. Grieve: There is one area in which we have already made some progress. As a result of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, for the purposes of coming back into this country, and for sexual relations to take place, we do not recognise marriages under the age of 16 that have been carried out abroad—a matter on which hon. Members on both sides of the House combined. That may go some way towards solving some of the problems that the hon. Lady has identified.

Mrs. Cryer: In the case of Noreen, the police knew what was going on, but no charges were brought; the grandparents were involved, and they were not charged with anything. I still feel that a specific criminal offence would assist such girls.

Mr. Dawson: My hon. Friend is making a powerful case, and I support what she proposes. Is she aware of the use of care proceedings by local authorities in such cases?

Mrs. Cryer: Yes I am, and I appreciate what my hon. Friend is saying—but I cannot explain how very difficult it is for girls who are brought back traumatised. It takes them all their time and effort to come to see me, and they
 
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come through the back door, because they are terrified that somebody from their community might see them. For some reason, both the young girls and their families in the Asian community in Keighley seem to regard social services as a sort of monster. I have never understood that, because I have no evidence that they have been dealt with unfairly, but they do seem to be terrified of social services, so I do not think that it is an option for those girls to seek help as my hon. Friend suggests.

To continue: the weight of English law is clearly on the side of the victim—or should we pay lip service to political correctitude and parental choice, however misguided, and leave the law unchanged? I am not attempting to point the finger at any particular group or community; I can only act on the information that I am given in my constituency work. I do not go out to find such horrific cases; they are brought to me.

It would give me the greatest pleasure if representatives from the communities in which forced marriage affects a minority were able to raise the issues themselves. The day when the words of a white, middle-aged, middle-class old-fashioned socialist can be replaced by those of an Asian woman in this House will be the day when I will no longer need to raise such issues. Were those communities prepared to take the lead on these issues themselves, there would be no need for a change in the law. Regrettably, not only in my constituency but in many northern towns and cities, I see no sign of that lead being taken. Instead, traditional patriarchal views seem to dominate and be of paramount importance, rather than the rights and the equality of women.

I am not having a go at any particular religion or community, and I am aware that the Koran is as explicit as the Bible in its support for gender equality. For example, Sura 3:195 says:

"And your Lord replied, 'I shall never cause the deeds of any of you to be lost, male or female, you are of each other'".

Clearly, this is a question not of religion but of culture—or, more correctly, of the use of and reliance on perceived cultural values to excuse behaviour that we in the 21st century rejected years ago. For us to do nothing would, through our inactivity, sanction abuses of human rights, and young people would continue to suffer as a result of outdated and unacceptable perceived cultural traditions.

I do not suggest for one minute that a new law criminalising the coercion, aiding or abetting of a forced marriage would solve the problems of forced marriage overnight. It would, however, be a major step forward. This may be more properly discussed on another occasion, but I would also like to see new legislation in line with the law in Denmark, in which a minimum age for people from outside the European Union who enter Denmark as spouses has been established. The Danes have specified the age of 24; I would be happy with 21. Likewise, ensuring that British citizens could not act as sponsors until they reached that age would give additional protection to the vulnerable. It would also give them time to complete their education.

Whatever improvements there have been since 1999, clearly they are insufficient to deter some parents from subjecting their children to a marriage that they do not want, and which devastates their lives.
 
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This Government have had the courage to meet the challenge of domestic violence head on. Many victims, and professionals who deal with the consequences every day, will thank us for our boldness. However, I hope that the Government will also consider extending the protection of the Bill to young people whose rights are being daily abused by enforced marriage.

7.36 pm

Andrew Selous (South-West Bedfordshire) (Con): It is always a pleasure to listen to the hon. Member for Keighley (Mrs. Cryer), who speaks with great wisdom, insight and compassion about the issues that she finds in her community. The extent of the problem of domestic violence has been well outlined by everyone who has spoken so far. It is appalling that there are between half a million and three quarters of a million domestic violence offences every year. I understand that a quarter of women and one sixth of men are likely to find themselves subject to domestic violence at some point in their lives.

We have already heard several times that there are two deaths a week from domestic violence, and that 22 per cent. of all violent crime relates to domestic violence. Those are shocking statistics that rightly shame and concern all of us in the House, wherever we sit within it. Like many hon. Members, I have had the privilege of going around a women's refuge in my constituency, and I pay tribute to the staff of South Bedfordshire women's aid, who do an excellent job. They do not always have the funding or the facilities that they would like, but they provide an extremely important service at a critical and distressing time in the lives of many of my female constituents.

I spoke to some of the staff there earlier today and they asked me to make several points in the debate. The constituency that I represent is partly a rural area, and they said that there is still a strong feeling among many people that domestic violence is not something that would happen in "our village", or "our town". The subject tends to be under cover, and I hope that this debate, and the publicity that we can give it in our constituencies, will give people the courage to realise that, sadly, the problem is widespread, and encourage them to go forward, seek help and contact the police as soon as possible.

Another question raised by the lady to whom I spoke in the South Bedfordshire women's aid refuge was: where can men go? Women have been the focus of the debate, rightly, as I understand that 81 per cent. of the victims of domestic violence are women—but that means that almost 20 per cent. of victims are men. A gentleman came to one of my constituency surgeries not so long ago—a strong, healthy man—and broke down in tears in front of me when he described the distress and sheer terror that he felt because of the woman with whom he was living.

We have talked of taboo subjects, and I venture to suggest that domestic violence against men is even more of a taboo subject than domestic violence against women. However, we should be aware that it does exist, and we should encourage men not to suffer it and to seek relevant help.
 
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Vera Baird: I agree very strongly with what the hon. Gentleman said, in that it is probably harder for men than for women to complain about domestic violence, particularly in situations such as he is describing. However, it is important to note that most domestic violence against men—although clearly not in the case he describes—is by men on men: by fathers on sons, brothers on brothers, sons on fathers and gay men on other gay men. The joint inspectorates of constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service, which conducted a thematic inquiry into domestic violence, found a female to male domestic violence level of only 1.5 per cent.

Andrew Selous: I am most grateful to the hon. and learned Lady, who has informed our debates throughout. I was merely highlighting the fact that men are also victims, rather than trying to argue that any particular group causes these problems. This is a very real question that we should be aware of in designing these services. Who of us in this Chamber today has any facility for men in that situation? So far as I am aware, there is certainly no South Bedfordshire men's aid for the 20 per cent. or so of men who are victims of domestic violence.

I should also like to pay tribute to Bedfordshire police, and in particular to Chief Superintendent Ivor Twydell, who used to be the superintendent of central division, which covers my constituency. He organised a conference on domestic violence not so long ago, and I know that he has a personal commitment to this issue. It was he who first told me that Bedfordshire police estimate that, typically, some 28 different assaults have to be made on a woman before she is prepared to come forward and do something about it. That is a truly shocking statistic, and I am pleased to note that one of Bedfordshire police's objectives for this year is to increase the arrest rate in cases of proven domestic violence.

I want briefly to express a few concerns about the Bill as drafted. Like all who have spoken, I recognise its importance and hope that it is passed, but I look forward to hearing from the Home Secretary about the sibling relationship aspect, and I am most grateful to know that a letter will be forthcoming on that subject. Like one or two other Members, I am worried about convictions going ahead without a jury trial on remaining counts if an initial sample count has reduced a sentence. I note that the Bar Council has expressed concern about that issue. I am also worried about the issuing of restraining or non-molestation orders against acquitted suspects, and I hope that that issue will be considered in Committee. We are talking about very serious offences, and we must have the assurance of proper and due process of law to make sure that when such penalties are imposed, we are absolutely happy that justice has been done. That is very important indeed.

Many Members have rightly said that this whole subject is about tackling a culture that regards domestic violence as acceptable, and about making it clear that our society is not prepared to accept it. However, I want to focus the remainder of my remarks on pointing out that that is too low an ambition. We should do far more than simply change the culture, so that domestic violence is no longer acceptable. We should focus on what we can do to ensure that domestic violence does not happen in the first place, because as with all things, prevention has got to be better than cure.
 
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In considering the origins of domestic violence, we must first pay tribute to those parents who engage in the long, hard slog of disciplining their children in a loving way, to make sure that they resolve disputes with brothers, sisters and friends in a non-violent way. That is a very tough job, whether one's children are aged between three and eight, or older. It is a very long, hard, tough slog, and I pay tribute to all parents who engage in that process, and who, through the love of their children, are prepared to discipline them and to make them realise that hands and feet are not the things with which to resolve arguments. If we as a country can establish that principle with young children, we will go a long way towards making sure that there are fewer victims of domestic violence in future. Doing so is very important indeed.

Of course, it is absolutely vital that there is no tolerance whatever of bullying in schools. South Bedfordshire schools are generally excellent, but from time to time people come to my advice surgeries and tell me stories that really do worry me. I am not sure that the school or local education authority in question has always acted with quite as much speed or concern as the parents and children had a right to expect.

It is also very important that we encourage our children to communicate. I was concerned to learn that David Bell, the chief inspector of schools, thinks that the nation's five-year-olds are less able to speak and to communicate than in previous generations, and perhaps slightly less articulate generally. This issue is terribly important, because if people are unable to communicate properly, the likelihood of their expressing themselves physically, rather than verbally, can increase.

My worries were reinforced following a conversation with the former chief inspector of prisons, General Sir David Ramsbotham. When he was chief inspector, a prison governor told him that if he had to get rid of all his staff, the last people to leave through the gate would be the speech therapists. He was pulled up short by that comment. Many prison inmates have never really learned the ability to communicate properly, and a lot of them are in prison because they have resorted to violence—in many cases, domestic violence. We need to teach people in prison the ability to communicate properly, and we should acknowledge the constructive role that speech therapists play in that regard.

Domestic violence, as we know, arises primarily out of broken family relationships. Sadly, this country fares very badly in that regard. We are the divorce capital of Europe, with some 40 per cent. of marriages breaking down; indeed, the figure for broken cohabiting relationships is even higher. Of course, it is by no means the case that all broken relationships lead to violence, but we can say that violence is very largely a product of broken relationships. That said, domestic violence is also often alcohol or drug-induced.

On prevention in cases where domestic violence has already happened, I was very interested to learn from the Assistant Secretary of State, who visited the UK just before Christmas, of the preventive work undertaken recently by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It runs a relationship enhancement course, and on a recent cohort some 90 violent husbands who were first-time offenders for spousal abuse were put through it. As a result, not one was rearrested for the same offence within a year.
 
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However, some 20 per cent.—one in five—who had not been on that programme committed domestic violence again. It would be useful if the Minister contacted the American equivalent of the Department for Work and Pensions to see whether we can learn from those preventive programmes, to make sure that domestic violence reoffending rates come down. Indeed, there are other programmes, such as the alcohol programme, from which we can also learn.

Within the UK, the particular voluntary organisations that I look to with the greatest enthusiasm in respect of their ability to reduce domestic violence in the future are the community family trusts. These are relatively new in the UK and there are only about 17 throughout the whole country. They were established in 1998, but more are on the way. Since their establishment, they have attracted Government and charitable funding. The Government funding has come partly through the marriage and relationship support programme within the Home Office, although it is now been moved to the Department for Education and Skills. I believe that the community family trusts will play a key part in helping us as a nation to develop our relationships better and to learn relationship skills so that there is less domestic violence within the UK.

Community family trusts work with a wide range of professionals within the community—typically registrars, clergy, school heads, primary care trust staff and local authority staff—and they are committed to improving all couple relationships. They are also committed to the promotion of healthy marriages. They work before couples get married, when children arrive and when couples are in danger of splitting up—but not only at that stage. I believe that these groups will play a significant role in helping to reduce domestic violence in the UK.

My plea is for prevention as well as cure. I recognise that the Bill's provisions are important for dealing with domestic violence as and when it occurs, but let us not lose sight of the fact that the best result of all would be to reduce the numbers that have to be dealt with as a result of the Bill.

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