Critics Say UK Government's Strategy to Protect Women and Girls from Violence Severely Underfunded
The UK government's strategy to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG) has been criticized by campaigners and experts for being seriously underfunded despite a claimed £1 billion investment. The strategy focuses on prevention through healthy relationships education, consent, addressing digital harms, and school-based interventions involving teachers.
Policy measures include education on consent, preventing the sharing of explicit images, sending experts to secondary schools, behavioural courses for at-risk youth, and a planned GP referral service alongside other reforms. Specific funding commitments announced include £50 million for therapeutic support for child victims of sexual abuse, £19 million for safe housing for domestic abuse survivors, £550 million to support victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system, specialist rape and sexual offences units in every police force, and a national rollout of strict new restraining orders on domestic abusers.
Despite these figures, the End Violence Against Women coalition has highlighted that £3 million allocated for a teacher training pilot is far from sufficient. Andrea Simon of the Rights of Women organization warned of increased strain on frontline support services that are already facing a funding crisis. Domestic abuse commissioner Nicole Jacobs acknowledged the strategy’s recognition of the challenges but criticized its lack of long-term sustainable funding for specialist services.
Voices from the sector describe the strategy as unclear and overly top-level, with the majority of funding directed towards education and health rather than reinforcing frontline services.
Conservative figures, including Kemi Badenoch, have criticized the government's approach, arguing that political rhetoric on misogyny in schools strays into cultural blame. Badenoch called for broader police and immigration measures and linked the focus to Labour, asserting that not all violence comes from young boys aged 11.
