Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle violence against women and girls.

Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a government priority. VAWG is an unacceptable, preventable issue which blights the lives of millions.

We have made significant progress since we published the Tackling VAWG Strategy in July 2021 and the complementary Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan in March 2022, including action to tackle the causes of these crimes. This includes supporting the introduction of a new full-time National Policing Lead for VAWG, DCC Maggie Blyth, to help strengthen the police response as well as ratifying the Istanbul Convention on 21 July 2022.

The Government recently announced that we are supporting the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP’s Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Bill, which would make public sexual harassment a specific offence. It provides that if someone commits an offence under existing section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986 (intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress) and did so because of the victim’s sex, then they could obtain a higher sentence.

Last year we launched our national communications campaign, ‘Enough’, to challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within wider society, educate young people about healthy relationships and consent, and ensure victims can recognise abuse and receive support. Phase two of the campaign started on 25 October.

In addition, this year the government has launched the ongoing VAWG Support and Specialist Service Fund and the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Intervention Fund. The former sees the Ministry of Justice and Home Office committing up to £8.4 million of funding for specialised victims’ support services over two years. The latter seeks to award grant funding of up to £36 million over two years to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to deliver interventions for domestic abuse and stalking perpetrators.

New duties on Tier 1 local authorities in England, included in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 came into force on 1st October 2021, ensuring victims and their children across England can access the right support in safe accommodation when they need it. On 12 December 2022 we announced a further two years of government funding - £127.3 million and £129.7 million for the delivery of these duties in 2023/24 and 2024/25.