North Swindon MP, Justin Tomlinson, has raised the important work of organisations including the Swindon Women’s Refuge and Swindon Witness Support during a question time debate in Parliament.
Domestic violence is an abhorrent crime which is sadly all too viewed as “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” by many. In Swindon, more 2,000 instances of domestic violence were recorded in the most recent set of statistics, but experts believe that as few as 20% of all incidents are reported. This has led to calls for domestic violence to be made a specific criminal offence, a campaign which Justin backs.
Justin, who has worked closely with both organisations on the issues of tackling domestic violence and ensuring that victims of such offences are given all the support they require, praised the work done by such groups in assisting higher rates of prosecution in rape and domestic violence cases. In response, the Solicitor-General and South Swindon MP, Robert Buckland QC MP, highlighted the Government’s commitment to charities and organisations who work with victims of crime to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service has all of the evidence it requires.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “I am pleased that the Government continues to recognise the important work done by the Swindon Women’s Refuge and the Swindon Witness Service. Both Olwen Kelly & Layla Allen, as well as their teams of dedicated staff and volunteers, provide essential support to victims of these abhorrent crimes, and I will continue to support them in any way that I can!”
