Government launches new VAWG strategy

The government has launched a new strategy to fight Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

All police forces will now introduce specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams.

These will replace what the government is calling an outdated system, where officers often don't have the specialist knowledge to investigate rapists and sex offenders.

200 rapes are reported to the police every day and many more are not reported.

Domestic abuse protection orders will also be rolled out across England and Wales, placing mandatory curfews, electronic tagging, exclusion zones and notification requirements on abusers. Offenders who break these orders could face up to five years in jail.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "This government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency.

"For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life. That’s not good enough. We will halve it in a decade.

"Today we announce a range of measures to bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide."

CEO of Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, Cherryl Henry-Leach, said: "Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse welcomes the government’s commitment to strengthening the national response to violence against women and girls. The scale of this ambition reflects the urgency of the challenge and we stand ready to support government in its mission to halve VAWG within the next decade. The focus on improved investigation, enhanced tools to protect victims, and greater oversight of perpetrators signals a renewed commitment to systemic change.

"For these measures to be effective, accountability must be meaningful. Breaches of domestic abuse protection orders and other safeguards must be treated with the seriousness they warrant, recognising that non-compliance is not an administrative lapse, but a deliberate act that places victims at further risk."