Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support women's safety in rural areas.

Ensuring women and girls’ safety is a top priority for this Government. We have set out an unprecedented mission to halve the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. That means working across Government to tackle threats to women’s safety in all areas of their lives and across the country including in rural areas.

The Safer Streets Mission is driving delivery across Government to achieve this. We are spearheading a cross-Government approach to preventing and tackling VAWG through the Safer Streets Mission Board, ensuring that all of Government is focused on achieving our mission.

We will set out concrete measures to halving VAWG in a new cross-Government VAWG strategy to be published later this year. Our aim is to deliver transformative change to all areas of society.

It is vital that victims of VAWG have access to the support they need when they need it most, including those living in rural areas. That is why the Home Office continues to fund organisations providing vital frontline support to victims of VAWG nationally, including a range of specialist national helplines which provide guidance and support to all victims.