The UK Government has published their strategy for addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG). This long-awaited strategy provides the direction that the Government will take in their mission to halve VAWG.
Stopping violence, abuse and oppression before it occurs is vital if we are to achieve lasting change. Throughout this strategy, there is a move towards a whole systems approach which looks beyond the criminal justice system and will mean that there are more opportunities to help survivors.
Chief Executive Officer of Welsh Women’s Aid, Sara Kirkpatrick said:
“We are pleased the government have published their strategy to halve violence against women and girls. We have long advocated for a whole societal approach, so we welcome a vison laid out which includes healthcare, education, local authorities and beyond, as vital partners. We welcome the inclusion and acknowledgement of devolved nations, recognising that each legislature plays its part and that geography must not result in disadvantage. Many contributed their insights and expertise in order to reach this point and we will take the time it deserves to analyse the detail of this plan and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the government on turning intention to action, in embedding a whole societal approach to achieve lasting change.”
Welsh Women’s Aid have previously raised the concerns that the Direct Pay service was allowing coercive control and financial abuse to be facilitated through child maintenance payments1. We are pleased that the UK Government has committed to removing Direct Pay within the strategy.
We are also pleased to see the commitment to the long campaigned for ‘firewall’ mechanism. The Government has finally recognised that safe reporting mechanisms are essential for migrant victims and survivors.
There are many commitments to young people in the strategy, a clear recognition that starting early and investing in prevention work with young people has the potential to have significant impact on future life chances. However, whilst there is much emphasis on prevention, and interventions to reduce young people developing harmful behaviour, there is limited commitment to young people who are already survivors of domestic abuse. This comes in the wake of the withdrawal of the Children Affected by Domestic Abuse fund that many services rely on. This imbalanced focus not only leaves a gap in provision but also leaves those most vulnerable in our society without the support that they deserve.
We are encouraged by the commitment to support helplines that are often the first point of contact for a survivor, but we must ensure that these helplines have established connections to local provision, enabling survivors to access needs-led, trauma-informed support when they need it. It is also important that all devolved nations benefit from this work.
Whilst we welcome this strategy, Welsh Women’s Aid are concerned that Welsh specialist services will be left behind. The Welsh Government must ensure that any consequential funding that comes to Wales as a result of the strategy is ringfenced to be used to end violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV). We must see a rapid rollout of additional funding to specialist VAWDASV services in Wales so that we can ensure that Welsh survivors are not left behind.
We cannot end violence against women and girls unless the government works hand in hand with specialist support services. We need to see governments both in the UK and Wales that strengthen services like our Members who work tirelessly to support survivors.
ENDS
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