Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls: Can Labour Achieve its Objective of Halving VAWG in a Decade?

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Date of Event: Tuesday, January 7th 2025
Time of Event: 9:30 AM — 1:00 PM GMT
Place of Event: Webinar

Key Speakers

• Victoria Channing & Natasha Buglass, Head of Service & Assessing Social Worker at Trevi
• Dr Nasreen Rehman, Director of the National Commission on Forced Marriage

Two million women are estimated to be victims of violence perpetrated by men each year in an epidemic so serious it amounts to a “national emergency”, with crimes including stalking, harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence affecting one woman in 12 in England and Wales, and the number of recorded offences growing by 37% in the past five years and perpetrators getting younger, according to figures are contained in the first national analysis of the scale of violence against women and girls (VAWG) by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), released in July 2024. The new Labour government has ambitious plans to tackle VAWG, pledging to halve current levels within a decade.

The new government has said that it will “reform the justice system to put the needs of victims first.” Labour pledged to introduce specialist rape and sexual offences teams in every police force, targeting the most prolific and harmful perpetrators and using tactics normally reserved for terrorists and organised crime; introducing domestic abuse experts in 999 control rooms so that victims can talk directly to a specialist, and ensuring there is a legal advocate in every police force area to advise victims from the moment of report to trial. Labour has also committed to ensuring schools address misogyny and teach young people about healthy relationships and consent and providing police forces with the powers they need to track and tackle the problem. Labour have also proposed for six police forces to be given powers to charge domestic abuse suspects without the involvement of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Based on a pilot implemented by West Yorkshire Police which has invested in a cohort of trained police decision-makers, the plan will extend the use of emergency provisions for the police to charge high-risk domestic abuse suspects where the CPS cannot charge in time. Labour also plans to introduce a statutory duty on chief constables and chief crown prosecutors to work together to deliver justice for victims, including a requirement to develop new joint justice arrangements in every area and devise an annual joint charging action plan.

NPCC chiefs have warned of young men being “radicalised” online by influencers such as Andrew Tate, and have demanded that technology companies act more quickly to take down extreme material. Louisa Rolfe, NPCC Lead for Domestic Abuse and an Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan police, has said that the real figure for victims was probably even higher than the two million victims a year identified, with many offences not being reported, arguing that: “I think it is more, more like 4 million.” Police privately argue that delays in bringing domestic abuse prosecutions mean that most victims withdraw their support for a prosecution after seven days. Maggie Blyth, NPCC Lead for VAWG sees the justice system is a major problem: “We don’t think it is functioning … We know that we’ve got significant delays within the court system. We know that victims are waiting far too long for a criminal justice outcome. And we know that some victims fall away through that process.”

This symposium aims to offer local authorities, police officers, women’s rights organisation and other key stakeholders with a timely and invaluable opportunity to share knowledge and best practice to collectively strengthen our response to VAWG, examine the new Labour government policy prescriptions in this area, assess the challenge of meeting its objective of halving VAWG in a decade, and develop comprehensive strategies for radically improving the protection of women and girls in the UK.

Programme

• Understand the true scale of violence against women and girls in the UK, current trends in and their drivers
• Assess the effectiveness of current legislation and national and local policies and police strategies aimed at tackling VAWG
• Learn about and assess the new Labour government’s objectives and policies for tackling VAWG
• Exchange police best practice in tackling VAWG and protecting and supporting victims
• Exchange views on how to increase the reporting of VAWG
• Consider the policy, legislative, training and funding reforms required to increase prosecutions of perpetrators of VAWG
• Develop comprehensive, multi-stakeholder, whole system strategies to tackle VAWG
• Understand the role of internet and social media companies in driving VAWG and the changes needed to tackle VAWG online and prevent extreme content from being circulated  
• Consider the role that schools and other stakeholders can play in changing attitudes towards misogyny and tackling VAWG

Who Should Attend?

• MARACs
• Rape and Sexual Assault Support Centres and Specialists
• Independent Sexual Violence Advisers
• Social Workers and Social Services Officers
• Police Service
• Health Service Professionals
• Probation Officers
• Families Services Officers
• Children’s Trusts and Children’s Centres
• Local Safeguarding Children Boards
• Victim Support Representatives
• Community Cohesion and Development Organisations
• Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships
• Local Criminal Justice Boards
• Counselling Services
• Community Safety Teams
• Neighbourhood Policing Teams
• Anti-Social Behaviour Coordinators
• Drug and Alcohol Action Teams
• Youth Offending Teams
• Community Support Officers
• Children and Youth Services
• Local Education Welfare Authorities
• Headteachers and Deputy Headteachers
• PHSE Teachers
• Criminal Justice Practitioners
• Domestic Violence Co-ordinators
• Domestic Violence Intervention Teams
• Domestic Violence Training Providers
• Independent Domestic Violence Advisers
• Children’s Specialist Safeguarding Nurses
• Children and Youth Services
• Clinical Leads
• Commissioning and Partnerships Managers
• Community Midwives
• Community Support Officers
• Criminal Justice Practitioners
• Family Services Officers
• Heads of Community Protection
• Equality and Diversity Practitioners
• Faith Organisations
• Housing Associations
• Housing Officers
• Local Authorities Officers and Councillors
• Neighbourhood Managers
• Neighbourhood Safety Teams
• Judicial Services
• Judges and Magistrates
• Legal Professionals
• Welfare Reform Officers
• Youth Mentors
• Third Sector Representatives
• Central Government Departments and Agencies
• Charities and Non-Governmental Organisations
• Academics and Researchers

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