Bishop of Gloucester proposes amendment to Domestic Abuse Bill
Today MPs will debate amendments made by the House of Lords
The Bishop of Gloucester has proposed an amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill to protect migrants who are victims of domestic violence.
Today MPs are discussing several amendments proposed by the House of Lords including creating a 'stalkers' register' for prolific domestic abuse and stalker perpetrators.
The Bishop is a member of the House of Lords has has put forward proposals which would see migrants gain access to support and funds whilst their immigration status is being agreed.
The Right Revd Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester, said:
"The amendment propose migrant people get support temporarily for six months whilst their settlement status is sorted out.
"At the moment if you're not here on a spousal visa and you're a migrant you have no access to that support.
"So victims might therefore stay with a perpetrator rather than be made destitute".
Other proposals include making non-fatal strangulation a specific offence. It currently can only be prosecuted against under Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) and this can sometimes prove difficult if there's no evidence of physical marks left on the victim.
The Bishop - who also serves as the Bishop to HM Prisons - supporting a number of other amendments in the Bill as well.
The Right Reverend Treweek continued:
"Another amendment I'm supporting is around women in prison whose offending is a result of them being on the end of abuse.
"All of these are around making all people visible and ensuring all people have the right access to support.
"I hope it's a step forward to end this abhorrent issue of domestic abuse".
MPs will discuss the amendment proposed by the House of Lords. Once agreed it will then be sent back to the upper chamber where further debates will take place before it's given approval to be enshrined in law.