Violence Against Women and Girls
Women and girls experience violence and discrimination in society across the world because of their gender. It has serious long and short-term effects, both for the individual victims but also society as a whole.
Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) can take many forms, such as:
- Domestic abuse
- Forced marriage
- Early marriage
- Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
- Sexual assault
- Sexual harassment
- Sex trafficking
- So called ‘honour’ crimes
In July 2021, the government produced a new VAWG strategy, detailing a national plan to address and tackle violence against women and girls. You can read the strategy here.
In December 2021, a national policing framework on VAWG was published, for all police forces in the country to follow. The framework recommends the following actions:
- Communicating clearly and frequently that misogynistic, sexist and sexualised behaviour will not be tolerated
- Responding unequivocally to allegations of police-perpetrated abuse
- Expanding and enhancing processes for listening to women and girls
- Increased action against violent men
- Transform how the police and CPS handle investigations into rape and sexual offences
You can find out more about VAWG on the following websites:
- Action Aid: information about VAWG across the world
- Women’s Aid: UK-based charity supporting women and children