For many years we have been actively speaking out about the severity of domestic abuse and the devastating impact that it has on so many people across the country.
Following the release of a report commissioned by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing, violence against women and girls (VAWG) has been declared a “national emergency” by Deputy Chief Constable, Maggie Blyth – the national leading officer for VAWG.
This comes as no surprise to us and we hope to see strong actions taken to support survivors and hold perpetrators to account.
Report Summary
The report showed that more than one million violent crimes against women and girls were recorded by police in 2022/23, with nearly 3,000 crimes recorded every day.
It also estimated that at least one in every 12 women will be a victim per year – equating to two million women. This is only those that are reported though, so it is estimated that this number could be even greater as many people will not come forward straight away.
Violent crimes against women accounted for around 20% of all police-recorded crime in 2022/23. The report also found that there had been a 37% increase in reports of violence against women since 2018/19.
The figures are clearly a cause for concern and highlight the need to address this swiftly and robustly.
Read a press release of the key findings of the report here.
Read the full report here.
Taking Action
It has been encouraging to see greater training given to police to identify and effectively respond to various forms of VAWG, including domestic abuse. More than 4,500 new officers have been trained to investigate rape and serious sexual offences over the last year.
Despite this, the legal process to achieve justice for survivors and hold perpetrators to account for their actions continues to be slow and ineffective for survivors.
The prosecution rate remains low for these crimes, which must be addressed to hold perpetrators to account and encourage others to come forward. We hope the government will look into ways to fast-track cases involving domestic abuse to ensure that survivors aren’t waiting to achieve justice.
We also hope that they will designate adequate funds and resources to tackling domestic abuse, helping people to access support at an earlier stage, particularly:
Research from Women’s Aid has already indicated that investing in domestic abuse services will save the economy money – estimates show that every £1 invested could return £9 of savings.
Domestic abuse and all forms of VAWG must be taken seriously and action must be forthcoming to tackle this national emergency.
Leeway provides regular Domestic Abuse Awareness training sessions for individuals, businesses, and organisations, to help them spot the signs of domestic abuse and confidently respond to it. We also provide bespoke sessions to meet the specific needs of an organisation. For more information, visit our Training page.
