Women’s Aid responds to new government measures to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls

Farah Nazeer, chief executive at Women’s Aid, said:  

“At a time when the police response to violence against women and girls is an urgent public priority, it is positive to see the government step up efforts to coordinate action to tackle it.

“These measures, however, need to go further still to create the systemic change needed to keep women safe, and fail to hold any agency to account. The regular publication of data on police responses to violence against women and girls, as well as the Home Office monitoring of police compliance to existing standards, such as the Istanbul Convention, would be an important start.

“Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is not only a criminal justice issue – only one in five survivors of domestic abuse report to the police. So we urgently need all government departments to work together, alongside VAWG experts, to tackle this issue of women’s inequality and human rights. This must be a priority for all relevant government ministers. Women’s lives depend on it.

“There is also not enough funding for domestic abuse support services for survivors, and we have serious concerns that existing funding is falling to larger, more generic services that are ill-equipped to provide the expert support that survivors urgently need. We recommend that the government commit to a minimum of £427m annually for specialist services in England, with ring-fenced funding for specialist services led ‘by and for’ Black and minoritised women, d/Deaf and disabled women, those with No Recourse to Public Funds and LGBT+ survivors.”