The UK government's landmark strategy to combat violence against women and girls (VAWG) has been launched with a promise of £1bn in funding, but campaigners and sector leaders have immediately labelled it as "seriously underfunded" and insufficient to meet its stated ambitions.
A Milestone Strategy with a Funding Shortfall
Presented in the House of Commons by safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, the cross-governmental plan was hailed as a "milestone" and a recognition of the issue as a "national emergency." The strategy focuses heavily on prevention, aiming to tackle harmful behaviours in boys through education in schools about healthy relationships, consent, and the dangers of pornography and sharing explicit images.
It includes measures such as sending experts into secondary schools and enabling teachers to refer young people at risk of causing harm onto behavioural courses. Phillips emphasised the strategy was "more than a document" and represented a government "willing to back up its words with action."
However, Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) coalition, welcomed the strategic intent but delivered a stark critique of its financial backing. She highlighted that the £3m allocated for a teacher training pilot would "barely scratch the surface" of the infrastructure required. Simon pointed to a pre-existing funding crisis facing frontline support services, which the new strategy does little to alleviate.
Key Policies and Critical Gaps
The strategy package contains several specific policy announcements, including:
- A new GP referral service and £50m for therapeutic support for child victims of sexual abuse.
- Plans to ban AI "nudification" apps and work with tech firms to stop nude images being shared on children's phones.
- The establishment of specialist rape and sexual offences units in every police force.
- A national rollout of strict new restraining orders for domestic abusers.
- £19m for councils to provide safe housing for domestic abuse survivors.
- £550m to support victims and witnesses through the criminal justice system.
Despite this, Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, echoed concerns over funding. She stated the investment "falls seriously short" and criticised the continued lack of long-term, sustainable funding for specialist services, warning that new measures could drive up demand without the resources to meet it.
Political Controversy and Systemic Challenges
The strategy's focus on preventing misogyny in schools sparked criticism from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. She controversially suggested the focus should be on "people, who come from cultures that don't respect women, coming into our country," a comment labelled as "dangerous" and "deeply inaccurate" by Ghadah Alnasseri of the charity Imkaan, who said it spread racism and misinformation.
Andrea Simon of EVAW also cautioned that the preventative focus must be systemic, not punitive towards individual boys. "We don't want a situation that is overly punitive around very young boys," she said, adding that tech platforms profiting from extreme misogyny must be held accountable.
An anonymous sector source expressed disappointment, describing the strategy as "top level and vague" and noting that initiatives largely invested in education and health, not directly into the overstretched VAWG sector itself. Karen Ingala Smith of the Femicide Census did welcome the strategy's explicit use of the term 'femicide', calling it the most serious form of men's violence against women and girls.
The launch underscores a significant gap between the government's declared ambition to end the "epidemic of abuse" and the concrete, long-term financial commitment campaigners argue is essential to make that goal a reality.
