The Coalition Government have committed to implementing a co-ordinated strategy addressing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and have produced an action plan.
At the Women's Aid National Conference on July 16th 2010 Home Office Minister Teresa May gave a speech about the Coalition Government's commitment to VAWG. See the full speech here.
The Government have yet to respond to the Alberti and Sexualisation of Young People Reviews (below) but have responded to the Stern review.
Althoughsome of the information (e.g. about National Indicators) in this guideis now out-of-date, this briefing contains useful guidance on how to usecurrent policy drivers to ensure that survivors of sexual violence havelocal support services that meet their needs.
Rights of Women have recently produced a toolkit on using international rights and mechanisms on violence against women in the UK.
Policy and research on violence against women and girls (VAWG)
Reports published by government/public bodies:This strategy was launched in 2009 and includes a range of actions for the police, councils, theNHS and government departments across three areas: prevention,provision and protection. However, it has been shelved and we are as yet unclear if it will be implemented by the new Coalition Government.
This consultation has now closed but there is more information on the Strategic Action Plan and WRC's response.
This is the Mayor's strategy to end all forms of violence against women inthe capital launched in March 2010. It puts prevention at its core andwill, for the first time, bring the work of the police, localauthorities, third sector, NHS and criminal justice system to end allforms of violence against women together under one umbrella.
The GEO has developed a communicationsguidance and toolkit in order to support and informgovernment communication in the area of VAWG. Reducing violence against women and girls requires a long-termshift in public attitudes, and GEO recognises that effective andstrategic communications will play a key role in achieving this. This guidance is designed tosupport communication and campaign activity around the cross-Government VAWG strategy.
Reports published by non-governmental organisations (NGOs):The
End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) produced this blueprint strategy in 2008 setting out with governments in the UK should be doing at all levels.
To inform the national VAWG consultation, the Home Office commissionedthe
Women’s National Commission (WNC) to organise focus groups acrossEngland to gather women’s and girls’ views on what would make them feeland be safer, and on proposals to prevent VAWG. The focus groups were designed around the themes used in thecross-government consultation: prevention, provision and protection.
The review examines the whole process of a rape complaint from themoment a rape is first disclosed until the court has reached a verdict. BaronessStern CBE, who was asked to undertake the review by the
Government Equalities Office (GEO), hasfocussed on how to ensure the key agencies involved in rape complaints,such as the police, local authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service,the health service and third sector organisations work more effectivelytogether to improve rape complainants’ treatment.
- The Alberti Review Responding to violence against women and children - the role of the NHS: The report of the Taskforce on the Health Aspects of Violence Against Women and Children March 2010
This report sets out a series of recommendations for the
National Health Service (NHS) to bettersupport victims of violence. It stresses that increased awareness,training and education is necessary for NHS staff to be able to applythe same rigorous, systematic approach to this issue as has beenapplied to other areas of NHS work, such as diabetes and stroke.
The review, launched in February 2010, has formed part of the government’s wider consultation onVAWG. Dr Linda Papadopoulos’ report examines howsexualised images and messages may be affecting the development ofchildren and young people and influencing cultural norms. The reviewalso examines the evidence linking the sexualisation of young peoplewith violence.
This report, published in January 2010, comes from a series of WNC focus groups commissioned to inform the
Department of Health (DoH) Taskforce on the health aspects of VAWG.
This report, published in November 2009, follows a
Home Office review of how to improve the criminal justice systemresponse to rape victims, as part of the development of the VAWG Strategy. The Home Officecommissioned the WNC to develop and organise three women’s discussiongroups in England, targeting women who have been raped and who are inreceipt of support from sexual violence services, and who either havenot reported to the justice system; reported but had their casediscontinued, or reported and had their case progressed through thecourt system. See the final report from Sara Payne MBE below:
This report outlines key recommendations on improving services forvictims, including looking at the total impact of the crime committedagainst them.
This research forms part of the
Race on the Agenda (ROTA) Female Voice in Violence Programme which looks at the impact of serious youth and gang violence on women and girls. The research highlighted concerns about the lack of appropriateservices available to those females caught up in gangs, the use ofsexual violence by gang members, and the impact of serious violence ontheir sexual and mental health.
Rights of Women have produced this report to assess how current law and policy related to violence against women in England and Wales measures up to UK commitments under international law.
This is the second
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) annual VAW performance report, and covers the followingstrands of VAW for 2008-09: domestic violence;forced marriage; honour based violence; female genital mutilation; rapeand sexual offences; human trafficking; prostitution; child abuse; andpornography.
A report by
New Philanthropy Capital on the far reaching consequences of violence against women (April 2008).
See also WRC consultation responses on the National and London VAWG strategies and others here.