UK's Reliance on Free Labour of Women Hampers Effective Safeguarding Against Gender-Based Violence

MP Jess Phillips has criticized the UK government for relying on the free labor of women to provide services to support victims of violence against women and girls. The minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls stated that the country has "got fat" from this expectation and that it is a "fundamentally sexist" practice. Phillips emphasized that safeguarding against gender-based violence should be considered a mainstream concern, rather than the sole responsibility of the Home Office.

Key Takeaways:

• The UK government has relied on the free labor of women to provide services to support victims of violence against women and girls, with women providing services such as counseling and refuge operations without payment.
• This reliance on free labor has led to a lack of willingness from the government to provide these services, with Phillips stating that the government has "got fat" from the expectation that these services will be provided for free.
• The minister emphasized that safeguarding against gender-based violence is not just the responsibility of the Home Office, but rather a mainstream concern that should be addressed in every government department.
• Phillips has received pushback from ministers and civil servants, with some suggesting that issues such as healthy relationship education and mental health support are the sole responsibility of the Home Office.
• The minister acknowledged that undoing this expectation and reliance on free labor will take a long time and be a difficult process.

Statistics:

• Since the 1960s and 1970s, women in the UK have provided services such as counseling and refuge operations without payment, shaping the expectation that these services will be provided for free.
• The majority of these services were set up by women in the 1960s and 1970s, with many of these services relying on voluntary labor from women.

Sources:

• [Jess Phillips, The Guardian]