Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy

Baroness Smith of Cluny Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hazarika]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to implement the violence against women and girls strategy, published on 18 December 2025.

[The Advocate-General for Scotland (Baroness Smith of Cluny) (Lab)]

We will deliver the strategy through a truly cross-government approach, recognising that halving VAWG within a decade requires action from every part of society. Implementation will be overseen by cross-government governance, including the VAWG ministerial group, meeting next on 27 January, and an external VAWG stakeholder advisory board. Progress is already under way, with media initiatives launched and further commitments rolling out throughout 2026 under a 10-year adaptive plan supported by regular updates.

[Baroness Hazarika (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that Answer, and I genuinely welcome the strategy, particularly because, for the first time ever, it focuses on engaging boys and young men. They must be part of the solution, and they too can be victims of the very aggressive, violent, hypersexualised online world. The TV presenter, Ore Oduba, recently spoke out with great courage about his own addiction to pornography and the damage it has caused. He will not be alone. Can the Minister tell us how this important training in schools will be designed and resourced to make sure that teachers feel confident and teenage boys do not feel alienated.

[Baroness Smith of Cluny (Lab)]

The noble Baroness raises a very important issue and I am grateful for the opportunity to address it. We know that men and boys experience these types of behaviours. We also know that their experiences are unique. Indeed, one in five men experience domestic abuse. That is why we have produced the Men and Boys Explanatory Note, which details how the strategy reflects their unique needs. The strategy also recognises that these behaviours are disproportionately experienced by women and perpetrated by men. As the noble Baroness alluded to, the key to addressing both of these equally important matters is through education. That is why we have announced a £20 million funding package, to ensure that every secondary school has a credible package to offer.

[Baroness Sugg (Con)]

My Lords, I was very pleased to see reference to honour-based abuse in the violence against women and girls strategy, including a commitment to introduce a definition of it. Has there has been any progress on the Government introducing a definition in the Crime and Policing Bill that we are currently considering? I suggest that that is an excellent way to implement part of the strategy.

[Baroness Smith of Cluny (Lab)]

The noble Baroness raises an important issue. Honour-based abuse is directly addressed in the strategy, as the noble Baroness has observed. It is often hidden in nature. That means we must try harder to address the needs of victims and build trust with them. We have set out clear action within the strategy, which includes continuing to fund the Karma Nirvana national honour-based abuse helpline, and have committed, as the noble Baroness identified, to a statutory definition of honour-based abuse. The strategy, as with all matters contained within it, has a collaborative, adaptive approach, and that is why we will be engaging with stakeholders as we develop that.

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

My Lords, the violence against women and girls action plan sets out clear steps for schools in updating relationships and sex education, making it mandatory for all pupils and students. Are teachers also having training in recognising children who may be at risk from domestic abuse at home and on how to refer them to experts? I ask because, although money for training on RSE is there, it is not evident in the action plan.

[Baroness Smith of Cluny (Lab)]

The key point to note is that the entire strategy is fully funded. At least £1 billion is being spent across government over the spending review, and that includes funding for education. Indeed, there are other government programmes, because it is a cross-government approach, through other departments, such as the Department for Education, to address the very matters that the noble Baroness raises.

[Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the strategy’s introduction of a firewall between the police and immigration enforcement to protect migrant domestic abuse survivors, but the requirement that the police must first seek the consent of the survivor has raised concerns that it will not provide reliable protection for survivors who do not speak English as a first language or who are afraid to object to the police passing on information. What training will police officers receive to ensure that migrant survivors feel confident to exercise this new and welcome right to a firewall?

[Baroness Smith of Cluny (Lab)]

As the noble Baroness identifies, training is critical to the whole-society approach that the strategy sets out, and policing is a key part of that. That is why £13.1 million has been provided to set up the national centre for VAWG and public protection, which will improve policing and deal with many matters, including the one that the noble Baroness raises.

[Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Con)]

In her Statement in the other place announcing the strategy before Christmas, the Safeguarding Minister highlighted the corrosive influence of online content that acts as a driver of violence against women and girls, stating that access by children to such harmful content should be made as difficult as possible in the UK. She is of course correct. One way of doing this would be to curb children’s access to social media. Does the Minister accept that this provides yet another reason why the Government should take action to ban social media for under-16s?

[Baroness Smith of Cluny (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising this prescient and important issue. I am pleased to report that the Government are taking action. That is why a consultation on this issue has been announced. The reason for announcing a consultation is that, on such a vital issue, we must be evidence-led. There is not a consensus on this issue. Powerful and important groups, such as the NSPCC, have voiced opinions in one direction, and we have heard strong advocation for the other side of the argument. Australia is undertaking a living experiment that we can learn from, so we will consult, we will be led by the evidence, and we will report back to this House.

[Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB)]

My Lords—

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[Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB)]

I heard of a case of a four year-old boy in a refuge hitting a three year-old girl because that is what daddy did to mummy at home. Is the Minister aware of how early children need to be supported on this?

[Baroness Smith of Cluny (Lab)]

The Government are aware, and that is why we have taken a whole-system approach in the strategy. A cross-government approach means that the housing needs of such children will be addressed through the strategy, as well as social care, education and any relevant criminal justice needs. The central plank of the strategy is that it is cross-governmental, as a well as taking a whole-system approach more generally.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, there is an international dimension to this, though the strategy is domestically focused. The crime of honour-based violence, as raised by noble friend Lady Sugg, as well as FGM and forced marriage, carry an international dimension. When may we expect the action plan, the details of which were announced in the strategy, to be formally launched?

[Baroness Smith of Cluny (Lab)]

I am pleased to be able to tell the noble Lord that the Government will host a round table on FGM in March. It will be focused on prevention, investigation and prosecution, and is part of the whole-society approach to which I have already alluded.

[Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)]

My Lords, the Istanbul convention was signed up to by the British Government when it was promulgated. It took several years, until 2022, for it to be considered ratified and its provisions incorporated into British law. However, Article 59 remains beyond our reach. It seems that a pilot scheme that was set up in 2022, or at least announced then, has yet to report. This concerns the rights of migrant women and the protections that we ought to be affording them. In the words of my predecessor, when may we expect the outcome of the pilot report so that the Istanbul convention can finally and completely be ratified?

[Baroness Smith of Cluny (Lab)]

My Lords, the structures that have been put in place around the strategy will ensure that any schemes or questions that remain outstanding will be picked up. A cross-government ministerial group will be meeting quarterly, reporting to the safer streets mission board and directly to the Prime Minister. We will be held to account externally on any matters that Members of this House or anyone in the wider society believe are outstanding. We will report annually on our progress, with measurable metrics by which we can be held to account.