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Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) on Monday, 12 January 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 January 2026. It was answered by Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour) on Monday, 26 January 2026 on behalf of the Home Office.

Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what the scope and time frame is of their review into the UK’s reservation on Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention; when consideration of this matter first began; why the review has been delayed; and whether the outcomes of the review will be made public.

Answer

Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and we’ve made it our mission to halve it in a decade. We are deploying the full power of the state through our VAWG Strategy, which was published on 18th December 2025

The government has signed the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in, demonstrating to women in the UK and to our partners overseas our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls. Many members who have ratified the convention have also made reservations on specific articles of the convention. We are currently reviewing our policies that support migrant victims of domestic abuse. This includes considering whether it is appropriate to maintain, partially lift or remove our reservation on Article 59. While the review is ongoing, we are unable to provide any further details.

The reservation does not mean migrant victims are unsupported. We have introduced several policy changes to better support migrant victims of domestic abuse. This includes expanding immediate settlement provisions to cover cases of transnational marriage abandonment and broadening the eligibility for periods of leave independent of the abuser under the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC). We have also implemented the Support for Migrant Victims scheme which helps migrant victims of domestic abuse with No Recourse to Public Funds. The scheme is delivered by Southall Black Sisters and their delivery partners, and provides support for migrant victims of domestic abuse, including accommodation, subsistence, counselling and immigration support. Our total investment for 2025/26 is £2.4m.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL13449
Session
2024-26
Related items
Subjects
Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk