Corbyn issues pledge on legal support for domestic abuse victims

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is pledging to give the victims of domestic abuse more legal support.

Mr Corbyn is committing a future Labour government to ratify the Istanbul Convention which lays down minimum standards of care and backing for people fleeing abusive relationships.

The Labour leader is also promising to do more to bridge the pay gap between men and women.

Marking International Human Rights Day, Mr Corbyn said: "We will put women's rights and freedoms, human rights, at the heart of our programme for government.

"In Britain, under this Conservative administration, a historic international treaty which sets legally binding standards to prevent and tackle domestic abuse remains nothing but a piece of paper.

"I pledge that a Labour government will ratify the Istanbul Convention and put it into effect, giving all survivors of domestic abuse the right to access to the specialist services they need to rebuild their lives and live in safety.

"Labour in government will change the law to make equal pay subject to external audit or payroll inspection. That will work for women, whether in the professions or on the shop floor. We cannot carry on accepting the yawning gap between men and women's pay.

"And a Labour government will ensure there is a legal right to time off for equalities reps in the workplace who play a crucial role in making equality legislation stick."

Mr Corbyn is insisting a Labour government will wage war on misogyny.

He added: "Labour will measure every piece of legislation, and every policy, by the yardstick of its impact on women before it is brought before Parliament and put into practice.

"If it works against women, it will fail that impact test. We will use the women's impact test to drive forward women's rights and freedoms across our country. Women will not only be at the heart of my government, women's rights and interests will be front and centre stage of everything we do.

"Ours will be a government for women, that fights inequality and misogyny in every part of society: women's rights, human rights, will be at the cutting edge of Labour's fight for a fairer and more equal Britain.

"The world's women aren't first and foremost victims of poverty or violence, they are the change makers. Without the participation of women at their heart, the most pressing global problems simply won't be solved.

"Women's concerns cannot be pushed to the margins, segregated from strategic issues of war, peace and the economy. Women are the strategy, they are the solution."

A Government spokesperson said: "We remain committed to ratifying the Istanbul Convention as part of our strong commitment to tackling violence against women and girls.

"In most respects, measures already in place to protect women and girls from violence comply with, or go further, than the Convention requires."