Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a key issue in the UK that affects 3 million women each year, with many more women living with past experiences of abuse. VAWG includes domestic violence, rape and sexual violence,  sexual harrassment, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, crime in the name of honour, trafficking and sexual exploitation.

On this page, we have gathered information on what the Government is doing to tackle VAWG as well as resources you can use to hold public bodies to account on this issue and lobby for better provision of support to VAWG services.

Government work on VAWG

• Theresa May's speech At the Women's Aid National Conference on July 16th 2010 about the Coalition Government's commitment to end VAWG .

• Call to end violence against women and girls: strategic vision  Cross-governmental national strategy on VAWG, with obligations for government on ending VAWG

• Call to end violence against women and girls: action plan (March 2011)
  

• The Way Forward (March 2010): The Mayor's strategy to end VAWG in London.
  

• Tackling VAWG: A guide to good practice communication (2011): A GEO guidance paper and toolkit to inform government communication in the area of VAWG and support the Government's VAW strategy. The GEO recognises that effective and strategic communications will play a key role in shifting public attitudes towards VAWG.  

• The Stern Independent Review : An investigation into the way rape complaints are handled by public authorities in England and Wales, from the moment a rape is first disclosed until the court has reached a verdict. The government have published a response to this review.
  

• The Alberti Review : A series of recommendations for the National Health Service (NHS) to better support victims of violence. It stresses that increased awareness,training and education is necessary for NHS staff to respond to VAWG effectively.

• Sexualisation of Young People Review (Feb 2010) :The review examines how sexualised images and messages may be affecting the development of children and young people and influencing cultural norms. The review also examines the evidence linking the sexualisation of young people with violence.
  
  

Research on specialist VAWG services

• Hard knock life  (April 2008): A guide for funders by New Philanthropy Capital on VAWG and the challenges that face specialist services.

• See also WRC consultation responses on VAWG related policy here .
  
  

VAWG research

• From Rights to Action (2011): Rights of Women have recently produced a toolkit on using international rights and mechanisms on violence against women in the UK.

• A Bitter Pill to Swallow (Jan 2010): This report is the result of a series of WNC focus groups commissioned to inform the Department of Health (DoH) Taskforce on the health aspects of VAWG.
  

• ROTA Female Voice in Violence report  (Jan 2010): This research forms part of the Race on the Agenda (ROTA) Female Voice in Violence Programme which looks at the impact of serious youth and gang violence on women and girls. The research highlighted concerns about the lack of appropriate services available to those females caught up in gangs, the use of sexual violence by gang members, and the impact of serious violence on their sexual and mental health.
  

• Measuring Up? UK compliance with international commitments on violence against women in England and Wales (2010): Rights of Women produced this report to assess how current law and policy related to violence against women in England and Wales measures up to UK commitments under international law.