PQ: 29 June 2023

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/pbc/2022-23/Victims_and_Prisoners_Bill/08-0_2023-06-29a.262.3?d=2023-06-29

Clause 11 - Guidance on code awareness and reviewing compliance

Victims and Prisoners Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:45 pm on 29 June 2023.

Sarah Champion Chair, International Development Committee, Chair, International Development Committee

[…] Victim Support has also raised concerns about the need to implement the right to be understood. One woman, Angela—both her name and the languages have been changed—was wrongly arrested when she attempted to seek help from the police after experiencing domestic abuse. Despite taking regular English classes, Angela struggles with language skills in pressured or stressful situations. When she contacted the police to report the abuse, her partner at the time, who was fluent in English, managed to convince the police officers that he was the victim. Angela said:

“They cuffed me, put me in a police car, so I said, why? I was being treated like a criminal, so I was in great shock.”

At no point did the police ask Angela if she understood what was happening or if she needed a translator, even when she started speaking in Romanian. She said:

“They were just saying, ‘speak English, speak English!’”

Angela was arrested and held in police custody. She only got an interpreter at 8 pm, despite asking for one at 2 pm. After explaining what had happened through the interpreter, Angela was, thankfully, released and her partner was later charged. Eventually, the case went to court and the perpetrator was found guilty and issued with a restraining order. However, a copy of the court ruling was only sent in English, and Angela had to pay to have it translated.

It must be on the face of the Bill that the Secretary of State must take all practical steps to ensure that victims who are deaf, disabled or visually impaired, or who do not speak English as their first language are able to understand their entitlements under the code. We cannot allow anyone, in particular vulnerable women such as Angela, to be wrongfully treated and unaware of their rights do to these language barriers. […]