RAPE AS A WEAPON

Early day motion 612, tabled 28 January 2009 by Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 65 members.

That this House condemns the use of rape as a weapon; notes the rape capital of the world is the eastern Congo where in some areas three-quarters of women have been raped; further notes that in Darfur, raped women are scarred or branded, or occasionally have their ears cut off and that this is often done by police officers or soldiers, in uniform, as part of a co-ordinated government policy; and calls on the Government to condemn violence against women, to work to highlight this abhorrent use of force in conflicts around the world and do everything that it can to prevent the systematic use of rape as a weapon.

Signatures by party: Labour 33, Liberal Democrat 22, DUP 3, Conservative 2, Scottish National Party 2, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Independent 1.