Outrage as 1330 women had to reveal rape details to claim child tax credits

Alison Thewliss, the SNP MP who has been campaigning against the two-child limit on tax credits and its associated "rape clause" since they were announced in 2015, said her heart "went out to" women who had to tell the authorities of details of how they were sexually assaulted.

The UK Government statistics also show a growing number of lower income families have been disadvantaged by the policies which restrict payments to a family's oldest two children.

They also show that an increasing number of women have had abortions since the policy was introduced in 2016, with campaigners arguing the policy forces women choose between increased financial hardship or ending a pregnancy. 

"Not only is the two-child limit and associated rape clause deeply cruel and pernicious, it is fundamentally a failed policy that any government with an ounce of compassion would have already sought to abolish," said Thewliss, the SNP 's shadow chancellor and MP for Glasgow Central.

“These figures show that the majority of affected households have at least one adult in work – shattering the Tories dubious claim that their policy is about fairness to those in employment.

“As part of the legislation, the UK government also tell women that there is an exemption process for exceptional circumstances – covering subsequent children conceived through rape – but completely fail to acknowledge the mental and emotional anguish they are deliberately putting women through in order to qualify.

"My heart goes out to the 1330 women who have had to disclose horrific details under the rape clause.

“In recent times, charities and agencies have denounced the policy for its irrefutable role in influencing affected women’s decisions to terminate pregnancies due to financial pressures."

She added: “The Covid-19 pandemic shows that no one can plan completely for circumstances outwith their control. The social security safety net should be there to support people, not punish them.

“In the face of overwhelming evidence about the damage that the two-child limit is inflicting on an ever-increasing number of women and children, it is hugely troubling that UK Government ministers remain so obstinately wedded to it.

“At a time where the SNP Scottish Government is putting money into people’s pockets with progressive policies like the Scottish Child Payment, the Tories are taking it away again with callous policies like the two child cap. It is clear that we can only protect families in Scotland with the full powers of independence.

“I urge them to reconsider, and to scrap it once and for all. I will continue to be part of the fight to oppose it at every opportunity”.

The policy was announced by former chancellor George Osborne in his summer budget plans in 2015. The UK Government defend the policy saying it encourages people to think about whether they can afford to have more children.

The "rape clause" is among the exemptions to the policy if a child is conceived as a result of non consensual sex.

The exemption means that a woman applying for the payment has to give details if applying for a third or subsequent child about how she was sexually assaulted.

Critics say the process risks "traumatising" the woman again as well as posing a potential future threat to her child's mental well-being.

Faith leaders, women’s welfare groups, trade unions and child poverty campaigners have all condemned the policy, with many sexual violence support charities refusing to act as third party verifiers for the UK Government.

Exemptions also apply to the third child if he or she is a twin or triplet. 

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) also criticised the policy today.

The charity pointed out that there was a 24% rise in the number of abortions performed to women with two or more existing children compared with an increase of 11% among women with one existing child, according to information supplied by the Department of Health & Social Care for England. 

It said that more than one million children are now affected by the policy from 318,000 families – a rise of 67,000 over the last year – and called on Boris Johnson's government to revoke the policy as a matter of urgency.

“The rapidly increasing number of families affected by this cruel and regressive policy is deeply concerning," said Clare Murphy, chief executive of the BPAS. 

“We have warned the Government that the two-child limit is forcing some women to end what would otherwise be wanted pregnancies. Since 2016, the number of abortions performed to women with two or more existing children has risen by 24%, compared with an increase of 11% performed to women with one existing child.

“The policy assumes that couples are always able to neatly plan pregnancies with the use of contraception, and that they can also plan their financial circumstances for the 18 years following the birth of their child. Even prior to the pandemic, this was far from the case.

“Especially within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has deepened already-existing inequality and created huge economic uncertainty, the two-child limit forces women and their families into a corner between increasing financial hardship or ending a wanted pregnancy. We call on the government to revoke the policy as a matter of urgency.”