Violence against women and girls (VAWG) covers a wide range of crime types and behaviours that are disproportionately experienced by women and perpetrated by men, including but not limited to harassment, stalking, rape, sexual assault, murder, honour-based abuse, coercive control. While anyone can be subjected to these crimes and behaviours, data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) shows us that women and girls are overwhelmingly disproportionately affected.
In 2024, Cumberland CSP adopted VAWG as one of its four priorities, working in partnership to tackle this issue.
In December 2025, the government launched its Freedom from Violence and Abuse Strategy. The Strategy is built on three objectives: prevention & early intervention to address the root causes of abuse; the relentless pursuit of its perpetrators; and support for all those affect by violence and abuse when it happens.
The strategy acknowledges that men and boys also suffer from many of these forms of abuse, however, they disproportionately affect women. We know that men and boys can and do experience these crimes and behaviours and that their needs and experiences are often unique. Around 1 in 5 men have experienced domestic abuse, 1 in 17 men have experienced sexual assault, and 1 in 13 men have experienced stalking since the age of 16. The government has therefore developed a Men and Boys explanatory note to detail how their Strategy reflects the needs of male victims of these crimes and behaviours.
One in eight women in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025 experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. On average, almost 200 rapes were recorded by the police every single day in the year ending June 2025, which itself is likely to be an underestimate of how many of these crimes actually occur. And more than 150 women in England and Wales are killed every year.
Policing, and society, must focus on violence against women and girls so that it can be eradicated. The policing response has been shown to be inconsistent and so there is now a national focus on supporting forces to prioritise VAWG-related crimes.
All police forces in England and Wales now have an action plan to increase action against dangerous perpetrators, build women’s trust and confidence and help make spaces safer for all women.