Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates in cases of violence against women and girls.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
This government is committed to halving violence against women and girls. This is my number
one priority as Solicitor General.
The CPS’s focus on tackling VAWG is driving an increase in charges across a range of VAWG
offences.
For adult rape prosecution, the CPS continues to transform its approach through the
implementation of their National Operating Model, based on robust academic evidence from
Operation Soteria. Through this work, there has been substantial increases in referral, charge,
and prosecution volumes for adult rape.
Similarly for Domestic Abuse (DA), the CPS and NPCC launched the DA Joint Justice Plan in
November 2024 with the aim to improve partnership working between investigators and
prosecutors, and over the last year this has led to increases in charge volumes by 10% and
conviction volumes by 7%.
To address the increasing complexity of VAWG offending, and holistic needs of victims, work is
ongoing to deliver the activities within the CPS’s VAWG Strategy for 2025-2030. This will ensure
that prosecutors have the right skills and tools to prosecute VAWG effectively leading to a positive
impact on prosecution rates.