Member

I want to ask the Minister about the equality impact assessment. Organisations such as GlobalARRK, Hague Mothers and Right to Equality—all with extensive experience in these matters—have raised concerns around the equality impact assessment, because it concludes that men and women are equally responsible for child abduction under the Child Abduction Act 1984, and therefore no protected group will be disproportionately affected. However, we know that over 75% of Hague abductions are carried out by mothers, many of whom are victims of domestic abuse. It is therefore worrying that the EIA does not acknowledge the gendered impact of these cases and their clear links to domestic abuse. Is the Minister confident that the EIA is based on enough accurate and representative data regarding gender and domestic abuse in parental abduction cases?