Increasing violence against women is a national emergency

Violence against women has been escalating across England and Wales. A report by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) shows an increase of 37% of crimes such as rape, domestic abuse, stalking and harassment over the past five years. Over the 2022 to 2023 period, Kent police recorded over 11,000 cases of domestic abuse concerning a female victim. And Maggie Blyth, deputy CEO of the College of Policing, has called violence against women “an epidemic.”

A recent article by journalist Lucy Morgan shares a woman’s experience. She was violently attacked on public transport. It concludes: “right now, it feels like women are shouting into the void about the violence and harassment we experience – and no one is willing to listen to us.”

It’s obvious, then, why 68% of the public believe the government should be doing more to tackle violence against women. And it is clear – not enough is being done. Action is urgently needed.

What is violence against women and what is domestic abuse?

The UN defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”.

According to Refuge UK, domestic abuse is “an incident or a pattern of behaviour that is used by someone to control or obtain power over their partner or ex-partner. It is never the fault of the person who is experiencing it, and it is a crime.” According to Women’s Aid, it can involve “controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence.”

One in four women in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. Men are also victims, but appear to be more reluctant to speak out about it, partially but not only due to perceptions of masculinity. The statistics suggest that 93% of defendants in domestic abuse cases are male, while 84% of victims are female.

Honour-based abuse also exists. This is often considered a “cultural, traditional or religious problem”. It is more prevalent, but not limited to, communities linked to South Asia, the Middle East and North and East Africa.

The legal framework

The Family Law Act 1996 gives courts power to issue occupation and non-molestation orders as remedies for domestic violence. Occupation orders can exclude the perpetrators from the victim’s home. Non-molestation orders can forbid the perpetrators from using or threatening violence, intimidating, harassing, or pestering a victim and any relevant children.

The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 extended non-molestation orders to cover cohabiting and same-sex couples and imprisonment of up to five years as a punishment for failure to comply with one. It also allows courts to impose restraining orders on acquitted defendants and creates an offence or causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult.

The Crime and Security Act 2010 introduced Domestic Violence Protection Notices (DVPNs), which can be issued by police to forbid a perpetrator from having contact with a victim for up to four hours, and Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs). These are issued by a magistrates’ court to forbid contact for between 14 and 28 days.

Coercive control and Clare’s Law

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 established coercive control and economic control as forms of domestic abuse. It gives police the power to issue Domestic Abuse Protection Notices, which will keep perpetrators from home for 48 hours so a victim can go somewhere safe. It gives victims and their children the right to safe accommodation. The act prohibits a cross-examination of a victim by an abuser in court and recognises children as victims instead of witnesses.

Clare’s Law (the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme) allows you to apply to the police for information about a partner’s past criminal convictions if you believe you are personally at risk of abuse, or are concerned on behalf of a close friend or relative.

The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act 2021 criminalises abusive behaviour which occurs on two or more occasions, recognises the pattern of abuse and the impact of abuse on children and establishes the application of laws on all forms of abuse.

In July 2022, the UK ratified the Istanbul Convention or Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. This Convention imposes an obligation on states to address violence against women and take measures to prevent it, protect the victims and prosecute the perpetrators.

Violence against women is a national emergency

Yet despite the robust legal framework, there is an escalating level of violence against women in England and Wales. It is so serious that the Home Office has classified violence against women and girls as a national threat to public safety and is reviewing whether extreme misogyny should be treated as terrorism.

According to police chiefs, two million women are victims of violence each year and it is estimated that over recent years, one woman in the UK has been killed by a man every three days. At least 50 women have been killed by men this year.

67,928 rapes were recorded by police between April 2023 and March 2024. By the end of March 2024, charges had been brought in just 2.6% cases. And according to the Office for National Statistics, in the year ending March 2023, there were 195,315 sexual offences recorded by the police.

A manifesto for ending violence against women

Last October, over 70 organisations signed a manifesto appealing to political parties to prioritise the issue of violence against women.

Fixing what is broken requires root and branch reform.

Major reforms of the criminal justice system are needed, including fast-tracking rape and sexual offences trials and making specialist sexual offences courts available where all staff receive trauma-informed training.

The legal system must ensure that family courts don’t place a child in the home of an abuser and that all perpetrators are held accountable.

Proper funding and support for survivors

Proper funding (“a long term funding settlement”) and effective commissioning of services for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is essential. It is greatly concerning that the funding for 66% of community services in Kent is reported to end by December 2026, with 55% ending in spring/summer 2025.

Financial support to the victims of economic abuse is also critical, particularly in the cost of living crisis. Ideas include providing grants instead of loans to those needing to escape DV.

Housing provision is another area needing significant attention. Recommendations include making more social housing available and supporting local authorities to prioritise housing for those at risk of gender-based violence.

Other recommendations include giving refugees equal access to escape abuse and adopting a law to tackle domestic abuse among Black and minority communities, who are often disproportionately affected by the impact of VAWG. “Honour” needs to be made an aggravating factor in honour-based abuse.

Police reform to tackle violence against women

Police failures have also contributed to the terrible statistics on VWAG. Some officers have been accused of being dismissive when they receive reports of abuse. Furthermore, more than 1,500 police officers were themselves accused of violence against women in 2023. Serious failings with how police forces dealt with officers accused of domestic violence were exposed in 2022. Police forces must respond effectively to protect the victims of violence . The public must trust that they will bring perpetrators to justice.

The root of the problem – educating men

In Lucy Morgan’s article, one of the victims of violence highlights that misogyny, sexism and rape culture perpetuates in a society that normalises poor treatment of women by men. One that treats harassment and a sense of entitlement to women’s time, personal space and bodies as normal. She underlines the need to create a society in which men understand that violence is unacceptable. Men and boys should be educated from a young age. Men need to act as allies by confronting other men with misogynist and sexist attitudes. She adds that the public should intervene when seeing physically violent or sexually inappropriate behaviour in public and on public transport, if it is safe to do so.

According to journalist Jesse Hill, society is to blame for violence against women because it accepts the patriarchy. It entrenches women’s subordination at every level and installs in men a belief that they must look masculine and be in control of everything. Violence against women is especially common amongst men who had trauma or attachment disruption in childhood. Therefore, supporting men with mental health problems, including with insecurity issues, does play a role in protecting women from violence.

Consequently, while structural reform of the legal and policing systems and better and more equitable funding of support services are keys to tackling the epidemic, the foundation of change is changing men’s attitudes.

Society must fight the patriarchy and be ready to defend the lives of women in order to combat domestic violence and violence against women.

Editor’s Note

Kent County Council, Kent Police and other agencies have published a five-year strategy to counter domestic violence which addresses a number of recommendations in the VAWG Manifesto.

You can access domestic abuse services by contacting Victim Support for assessment and referral to your local service by calling 0808 168 9111 or using the Live Chat facility. Alternatively, you can contact the freephone 24 hour National Domestic Violence Helpline run in partnership between Women’s Aid and Refuge on 0808 2000 247 or the Men’s’ Advice Line on 0808 801 0327. If you are concerned about your own abusive behaviour, the Respect helpline is available on 0808 8024040. In an emergency, dial 999 and press 55 if you cannot speak, so the operator knows you need help.