Responding to new figures which show that 1 in 7 disabled people aged 16-59 in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in the year to March 2020, and that disabled women were more than twice as likely to have experienced domestic abuse during the same period, Wera Hobhouse MP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Justice, Women and Equalities said: “The rates of domestic abuse against disabled people – especially disabled women – are shockingly high. Even more concerning is that these figures are from before the pandemic, and we know that lockdown has made the situation far worse.
“We must do much more to prevent domestic abuse and support survivors. The Domestic Abuse Bill – promised by the Conservatives almost four years ago – cannot come into law soon enough. Liberal Democrats will continue pushing for improvements to the law to properly protect all survivors.
“And these figures are a stark reminder that there is still much further to go to end the discrimination and injustice facing disabled people. They must not be left behind as we emerge from this pandemic.”