Violence against women and girls: UK government action

The UK government ratified the Istanbul Convention in July 2022. 

The Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Act 2003 came into force in 2004. This was before the recommendation was made in 2019. 

The Serious Crime Act 2015 introduced additional provisions into the FGM Act 2003. These came into force in May and October 2015, and are outlined in the UK government’s Factsheet: Serious Crime Act Overview. The additional provisions included a mandatory duty for frontline staff to report FGM to the police. 

The UK government’s 2021 Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy included a commitment for the Home Office to continue to work with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care to raise awareness of this mandatory duty. There is no evidence that the UK government have taken action to fulfil this commitment. 

The UK government referred to FGM as a form of abuse in its recent, public, awareness-raising campaign on VAWG. There have not been other awareness-raising initiatives regarding FGM as a form of child abuse and violence against women and girls.  

The last awareness-raising campaign that included FGM was called Let’s protect our girls. This took place in October 2018 and ended in January 2023. The UK government hosts resources on FGM on a dedicated webpage, but these do not specify that it is a form of child abuse and violence against women and girls. 

There is no evidence that the UK government has reviewed the effectiveness of measures to protect children at risk of female genital mutilation or forced marriage in the UK since the recommendation was made in June 2019. 

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 introduced several, additional changes to protect children at risk of forced marriage in the UK. The legal age of marriage and civil partnership has been increased to 18, whether or not parental permission is provided. It is also now a criminal offence to exploit vulnerable children by arranging for them to marry under any circumstances. This includes in non-legally binding ceremonies, whether or not force is used.

Since the recommendation was made, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced the office of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner (DAC). The DAC was given a statutory duty to review, monitor and publish information about the provision of services to people affected by domestic abuse. The DAC undertook a mapping exercise of provision and need of domestic abuse services in England and Wales in 2021 to 2022. The provision mapping report was published in 2022. 

Through the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the UK government introduced a statutory duty on some local government bodies in England to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation. This includes refuges. A Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation National Expert Steering Group (NESG) was set up to monitor the delivery of these duties. The steering group publishes annual reports reviewing the provision of safe accommodation, including refuges. 

NHS England runs a network of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs). SARCs provide specialist medical and forensic services for anyone who has been raped or sexually assaulted. The Care Quality Commission carries out inspections on the quality of care provided by SARCS. The UK government has not reviewed the availability of SARCs to ensure that all victims of gender-based violence can access the necessary support and services.   

The UK government has not amended the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to ensure equal protection for migrant women. Some migrant women are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition, which limits their access to support.

Under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, when victims of VAWG report crime to the police their personal data can be shared with the Home Office for immigration enforcement, including deportation. In December 2021, the UK government committed to developing mitigations for the ‘deterrence effect’ that such data sharing may have on victims of violence. This would include no immigration enforcement action being taken against the victim while proceedings were ongoing, as outlined in Review of data sharing: migrant victims and witnesses of crime. 

In May 2024, after the recommendation was made in June 2019, the UK government published an announcement stating that it had become mandatory for all new police recruits to complete learning and development on responding to rape and sexual offences as part of their initial training. However, there is no compulsory training for existing police or compulsory, wider training on gender-based violence.

The UK government does not provide input into, or have responsibility for, judicial training. The Lord Chief Justice (LCJ) has statutory responsibility for the training of judges and magistrates. This is exercised through the Judicial College.

Family law and criminal courses run by the Judicial College include training about domestic abuse for judges. All judges must complete their induction training before they can hear such cases. Domestic abuse is also covered in continuation training. The training reflects the wide-ranging nature of domestic abuse and covers all areas recognised by the UK government as abuse. This includes sexual abuse, emotional abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour (including financial coercion and control). There is no evidence that this training takes a broader perspective on gender-based violence.

In March 2022, the UK government launched a multi-year national campaign called ‘Enough’ to raise awareness about VAWG. This campaign has represented several forms of VAWG, including street harassment, coercive control and unwanted touching. In November 2023, the UK government launched another phase of the ‘Enough’ campaign, focused on university campuses. As of October 2024, the ‘Enough’ Campaign website was live, providing resources to service providers and signposting to support services.

Since the recommendation was made in 2019, the UK government has introduced several measures aimed at addressing low prosecution and conviction rates for domestic abuse and sexual violence. 

The UK government published a Rape Review Action Plan in June 2021 to improve the Criminal Justice System’s response to adult rape in England and Wales. In August 2023, the UK government announced that it had met all three Rape Review ambitions ahead of schedule. In February 2024, the UK government published a further Rape Review Progress Report, extending the Rape Review until December 2024 to facilitate further improvements.  

The UK government passed the Domestic Abuse Act in 2021. The act includes the creation of new offences, and changes aimed at improving victims’ experiences in the criminal justice system.  

The UK government published a Tackling violence against women and girls strategy in 2021 and a Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan in 2022. These publications include actions aimed at improving low rates of prosecution and conviction for domestic abuse.   

The UK government has established, and funds, various oversight functions of the police to ensure effective investigation of domestic abuse and sexual violence cases. At a national level, the police are inspected by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). These inspections, and HMICFRS’ monitoring of forces, identify areas that need improvement. HMICFRS makes recommendations and monitors the progress of these recommendations. However, it does not have any formal power to compel change. It is for the chief constables and local policing bodies to act on recommendations. Read more about the scope of HMICFRS’ work in relation to Police forces. 

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is independently responsible for prosecuting cases of gender-based violence. The UK government established, and funds, His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (CPSI) to inspect the CPS to ensure effective prosecution. The CPSI also does not have any formal power to compel change. 

The Sentencing Council is an independent body that produces sentencing guidelines for most offences. The guidelines are then used by judges to give sentences. In 2021, the UK government commissioned Clare Wade KC to carry out the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review. In response to the review’s findings, the UK government committed to strengthen sentences of domestic homicides. The Sentencing Council accordingly provided their own response to the recommendations on sentencing, and has committed to work on evaluations of guidelines on manslaughter in 2024. These have not yet been published. 

There is no formal redress scheme specifically targeting victims of gender-based violence or their families. The UK government has committed to setting up a redress scheme for victims of child sexual abuse, which includes victims of some forms of gender-based violence. The UK government has also set up the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to administer compensation to some people who have been physically or mentally injured because they were the victim of a violent crime. This will include some forms of gender-based violence.  

In relation to gender-based violence that involves actions or omissions of the state, since the recommendation was made in 2019, the UK government has taken steps to investigate instances of police-perpetrated gender-based violence.  

In October 2021, the UK government established an independent inquiry, The Angiolini Inquiry, following the murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer. Part 1 of the inquiry investigated the murder and the Part 1 report was published in February 2024. Part 2 is underway and aims to consider the risks of recurrence and changes that are needed to police culture. 

In February 2022, Baroness Louise Casey was commissioned to undertake an independent review of the Metropolitan Police Service. The Baroness Casey Review described ‘complacency’ in relation to police-perpetrated VAWG. Her final report noted that an ‘overwhelming majority’ of misconduct cases where domestic abuse is a factor result in no formal action.  

HMICFRS carried out an inspection on police vetting, misconduct, and misogyny. It published its findings in November 2022. The inspection concluded that it is too easy for the wrong people to join and stay in the police. In May 2023, HMICFRS published a rapid review of progress.  

In August 2023, the UK government announced changes to rules governing police officers' disciplinary, vetting and performance processes. The changes included making police chiefs responsible for chairing misconduct hearings for their own officers. This change intends to increase their accountability for their forces. As part of these changes, the UK government also plans to introduce a list of offences that would automatically amount to gross misconduct on conviction. However, no further details, including timeline, were published before the UK government was elected in July 2024. 

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner has also made several recommendations to strengthen the Criminal Justice Bill’s response to police-perpetrated VAWG. 

In the King’s Speech 2024, the UK government announced plans for a new Crime and Policing Bill to include measures to deliver higher policing standards. These measures included introducing mandatory vetting standards for police.