The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 2nd September 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 23 May (HL4639), when the findings of the feasibility study on the possibility of developing prevalence estimates for female genital mutilation and forced marriage will be published.
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab, Home Office): The Government has committed to halving violence against women and girls over the next decade. Combatting so-called ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) is very much a part of this work. The Home Office commissioned the University of Birmingham in 2023 to conduct a feasibility study on the possibility of developing prevalence estimates for female genital mutilation and forced marriage.
We are currently considering the findings of the feasibility study and we will confirm our next steps shortly.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, following the publication of the Kapersky State of Stalkerware Report 2023 on 20 March, which stated that 42 per cent of British citizens believe that cyberstalking of a romantic partner is acceptable, what steps they plan to take to increase awareness of online violence against women.
Lord Hanson of Flint: The scale of violence against women and girls in our country, including that which takes place online, is intolerable and this government will treat it as the national emergency that it is.
Stalking is an insidious crime, and the law is clear that what is illegal offline is also illegal online. Placing spyware on phones, hacking into accounts and accessing online accounts that perpetrators used to have authorised access to, are all crimes and should be reported to the police.
We will overhaul every aspect of society’s response to these devastating crimes, including tackling violent and misogynistic content online. This includes tackling the root causes of these crimes, by supporting our education system to teach children about healthy relationships and consent.
As part of our mission, we will be building on the Online Safety Act to tackle violent and misogynistic cultures online which can drive this kind of appalling crime. We will also strengthen the use of Stalking Protection Orders and will give women the right to know the identity of online stalkers.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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