Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave)

I beg to move,

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for an entitlement to paid safe leave for victims of domestic abuse; and for connected purposes.

Domestic abuse is a national emergency. All Members of this House will have been contacted by women and men in their constituencies who have suffered from domestic abuse at some point in their lives. According to SafeLives, approximately 2.1 million people in the UK have experienced some form of domestic abuse. Sadly, the majority are women, and I will refer today to the Government’s mission to tackle violence against women and girls. But we should not forget that 750,000 of those survivors are men, and Office for National Statistics data shows that one in seven men has experienced domestic abuse. Although those figures may shock some Members of this House, they do not paint a full picture of the emergency that we are in.

One in four women has experienced domestic abuse. At least one woman is killed by a current or former partner every week in this country. Each year, more than 75,000 people are at high or imminent risk of being murdered or seriously injured as a result of domestic abuse. Some 1.5 million domestic abuse-related incidents were recorded by police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2023, and nearly 250 people were arrested in Gloucester alone this December for domestic abuse-related offences. Behind all the statistics, however, is a human being—a person in our society, our communities and cities like mine who has faced unimaginable pain and suffering.

Domestic abuse is not just about physical violence. It is also about psychological manipulation, economic control, coercion and the isolation of victims from their friends, families and support networks. It affects people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life. It takes a profound toll on a survivor’s physical and mental health. The trauma of abuse lingers and leaves long-lasting scars on victims that can take years, if not decades, to heal.

The impact of domestic abuse has been brought home to me, as a new MP, by the constituents who have attended my surgeries across the city and shared their personal stories. They include survivors and victims who have had to flee across the country, only to be followed by their abuser, individuals who have been prevented from having friends or even getting a job for more than a decade, and constituents who have been forced to pay their abuser’s rent long after they left the relationship.

Of course, we in Gloucester all remember the horrific murder of Hollie Gazzard, which I raised at Prime Minister’s questions just before Christmas. In 2014, Hollie was murdered at work by her boyfriend after months of obsessive behaviour, jealousy and harassment. Tackling domestic abuse matters to me, and it matters to my city. I have already held a roundtable with local charities and organisations, including the Hollie Gazzard Trust, FearFree and the Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service, and putting forward this Bill would not have been possible without the tireless campaigning and research of national organisations such as Women’s Aid, SafeLives and Rights of Women.

I am pleased that this Government are already getting on with the job of supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse as part of their unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls. We have already introduced domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms up and down the country and rolled out domestic abuse protection orders, which enable victims to be protected from all forms of domestic abuse, including non-physical abuse and controlling or coercive behaviour. However, I genuinely believe that this Bill could play an important part in that mission, and change the lives of victims and survivors across the country.

Why this Bill? Well, perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of leaving an abusive relationship is the financial reality. Survivors often find themselves trapped in cycles of abuse, because they simply cannot afford to leave. Figures from Women’s Aid’s recent report, “The Price of Safety”, suggest that it could cost a survivor almost £50,000 to leave an abuser, based on the direct costs of fleeing and rebuilding a new life. Despite the financial burden, taking time off work is an unavoidable necessity for many victims—whether it is for medical treatment, finding a new place to live, attending court hearings, seeking legal advice or taking their children to safety.

The demands on a survivor’s time are overwhelming, and many are forced to take holiday to give evidence against their abusers in court. Many take time off sick, only to fall foul of their employer for having too much sickness absence. Some take the impossible decision that they simply cannot afford to leave, so they remain in unsafe situations, continuing the cycle of violence. Two weeks’ paid safe leave would give victims and survivors the time they need to seek help, to find the resources they need to escape their abuser, and to start the long process of healing.

Let me be clear: victims of abuse should never have to choose between their safety or their wages. Survivors should not have to take annual leave to attend court in order to see their abusers prosecuted. Women fleeing an abusive husband should not have to call in sick and face the sack for getting their children to safety. Victims should not fear repercussions at work just for seeking help.

The last Conservative Government undertook a review of domestic abuse leave and concluded that it would be too difficult to implement. I do not accept that. What I do accept is that there will be complexities in ensuring that an entitlement to paid leave works as intended, that it supports survivors and victims of domestic abuse, and that it provides a framework by which survivors and victims can feel confident in having confidential conversations at work about what they are going through at home, free from fear of repercussions or a detrimental impact on their career. Unlike the Conservative party, however, I do not believe that something should be stuck in a drawer and forgotten about just because it is difficult. That is why I propose that the Bill require the Secretary of State to come back with regulations to implement safe leave. Such a process would allow the Government to consult victims and survivors, charities such as Women’s Aid, Refuge and SafeLives, businesses and employers, and trade unions in order to tackle the difficult issues head-on and deliver for victims and survivors.

Some may argue that providing paid leave for domestic abuse victims will put a burden on employers. Although such leave would be paid for by businesses, that argument misses the bigger picture. Domestic abuse already costs business and the economy. A 2019 study by KPMG shows that businesses in the UK lost £316 million a year as a result of work-related absences due to domestic abuse. Women’s Aid and ResPublica have calculated that domestic abuse cost our society £78 billion in 2022 alone. The reality is that employers who already voluntarily offer supportive work environments, including domestic abuse leave, tend to foster loyalty, improve employee retention and create safer, happier and healthier workplaces. It is no longer enough to say that domestic abuse is a personal issue; it is an issue that should concern every workplace, every employer, and every member of this House.

We do not have to look far for examples of how safe leave can be introduced in this country. In fact, parts of the United Kingdom have already begun the process of introducing safe leave. The Northern Ireland Assembly have passed the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, and are currently consulting on proposals. Residents in the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the Philippines all have the right to time off work because of the domestic abuse they have suffered. As this Government are taking a global lead on tackling violence against women and girls, I truly believe that my proposal would be a fantastic part of that agenda.

Today, I hope to start a conversation in workplaces up and down the country so that employers ask themselves a very simple question: “If one of my employees was suffering from domestic abuse, would they come to us for help?” If the answer is no, surely more needs to be done. Safe leave would save lives. Safe leave would start conversations in workplaces in my city of Gloucester that will help survivors and victims of domestic abuse get to safety, get the support they need and get back on their feet.

Imagine living in a society in which victims and survivors of domestic abuse feel safe and empowered to seek support at work. Imagine if, having fled your home, got your children to safety and then taken legal action against your abuser, you did not have to worry about your job. You could take the time to attend court, get medical help and see your solicitor, safe in the knowledge that you had a protected and paid right to time off. That is the kind of society that I want to live in.

In closing, I ask the House to consider the many victims and survivors who are suffering in silence today; I ask Members to think about the children and families whose lives have been torn apart by violence; and I ask all of us to think about what we as Members of this House can do to ensure that these survivors are not abandoned or left behind. Introducing two weeks of paid leave for victims of domestic abuse is a step towards a more just, compassionate and equal society. It is a commitment that we will stand by survivors, support them and never stop fighting until violence against women and girls is a thing of the past.

That Alex McIntyre, Jess Asato, Emily Darlington, Catherine Fookes, Dr Allison Gardner, Tom Hayes, Uma Kumaran, Alice Macdonald, Ben Maguire, Anneliese Midgley, Katrina Murray and Mrs Sarah Russell present the Bill.

Alex McIntyre accordingly presented the Bill.