What these figures on grotesque rape clause fail to tell us

The so-called rape clause is an exemption to the UK Government’s two-child cap for tax credits and Universal Credit. Under this policy, women can receive support for a third child born from “non-consensual conception”.

SNP MP Alison Thewliss has spearheaded the campaign against the callous two-child cap and associated rape clause and has led the calls for it to be scrapped.

With the publication of these figures we can now see the real-life consequences of this grotesque assault on poorer families.

Nine hundred women have been forced to undergo the humiliation of disclosing their trauma to a stranger. In taking that decision, they will have no doubt weighed up the risks and benefits of doing so.

READ MORE: 900 women affected by Tory Government's 'rape clause', data shows

If any of those women are victims of domestic abuse, then telling an official about their rape could put them in danger.

Many of these 900 women will never have told anybody about their experience of sexual violence. The child they are claiming for may have no idea about the horrific circumstances of their conception.

In defending this pernicious policy, Tory politicians past and present have repeated the lie that “it’s just filling in a form”. In doing so, they demonstrate a shameful lack of understanding of the emotional burden they are placing upon these women.

What these figures don’t tell us is how many women who would be eligible to claim for a third child under the rape clause have chosen not to do so. They don’t tell us how many women are in greater financial hardship because they were unable or unwilling – out of fear for their safety or privacy – to disclose their rape to a DWP official.

A 2019 study from the Child Poverty Action Group shows that the UK Government’s two-child limit on benefits has pushed millions of children into greater poverty. Families interviewed for the study said they had been forced to cut back on essentials such as food and heating because of the policy.

The Tories must have factored in the hunger and poverty the two-child cap would bring when it was first introduced under former chancellor George Osborne. In the face of criticism from domestic abuse charities, child poverty groups and a cross-party group of opposition MPs, they insisted the two-child cap was “fair”.

READ MORE: St Andrews students given 'consent lessons' after claims of rape

They argued that it was only right and proper that unemployed parents had to make the same “hard choices” as working parents when planning the size of their families. That argument, you won’t be surprised to hear, was complete nonsense.

Official data shows that nearly three out of five of families affected have at least one parent in work.

But it was never really about fairness, was it? It was only ever about the Tories’ warped priorities and desire to punish those who aren’t as well off as they are.

The publication of this data will see renewed calls for the policy to be scrapped once and for all. If we have learned anything from coronavirus, it is that it’s impossible to predict the future.

Rishi Sunak, not the messiah, but a very Tory boy

Unless you are one of the privileged few who are cushioned from life’s bumps by vast wealth, there might be times when you need a helping hand.

Whether it is because of bereavement, relationship breakdown, redundancy or illness, no family should be punished for their decision to have more than two children.

No child should go hungry because the Tories hold their parents in such contempt.

We know the money is there. Throughout the virus crisis, the UK Government has shaken the magic money tree over and over again.

READ MORE: Alison Phipps: There is a politics of death in asylum system

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has won praise for his response. In spending our money, he has amassed a legion of media fans who insist that is the natural successor to Boris Johnson.

But he is not the Messiah: he’s a very Tory boy.

We saw that during the protracted wrangling over whether poor kids in England should be fed over the summer holidays.

Sunak’s father-in-law is the 51st-richest person in India, with a net worth of £2.5 billion. It is estimated that the Chancellor’s own wealth is around £2 million.

He is thought to be the richest MP in the House of Commons.

I think it’s safe to assume his kids are never going to go hungry and he’ll never be worried about scraping together enough change for the electricity meter.

If he’s to earn any of the glowing praise bestowed upon him then he needs to reverse the pernicious two-child cap. He should end the indignity and cruelty of the rape clause. And then – although I fear this may be too much to ask – he should apologise to all the families affected by it.