Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls in the UK: Is the Government’s Strategy at Risk of Falling Short?

The government’s new approach to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is taking shape amid mounting criticism over delays, process and ambition. Yet the central question is whether this strategy can truly deliver on its promise, or whether it risks undershooting the scale of change required. Ministers face growing pressure to show that their commitments amount to more than words.

‍Background and emerging approach

VAWG remains one of the UK’s most entrenched social harms, with Home Office figures showing that one in eight women experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in the last year alone. Persistent low charge rates and significant delays in the criminal justice system have intensified demands for a plan capable of shifting outcomes on the ground.

Ministers have pledged to halve VAWG within ten years and have trailed a forthcoming strategy as the vehicle for achieving this. Coverage suggests it will centre on three broad aims: preventing the radicalisation of boys and young men, stopping abuse and perpetrators, and improving support for victims. A particular emphasis on prevention and culture change signals an effort to tackle root causes rather than symptoms, but also raises questions about realism, delivery capacity and whether focus may drift from immediate justice and protection.

Focus and criticism

A distinctive feature of the approach is its focus on boys and young men as both a risk group and an audience for prevention. Reports suggest schools will be central to this, with strengthened work on respect, “healthy relationships” education and countering harmful online influences — including misogynistic narratives spread via social media. This focus has been reflected in the government’s latest move to train teachers specifically on identifying and challenging sexist attitudes and online misogyny among pupils. Ministers see this as a long-term investment in prevention, but some critics warn that it could divert attention from under‑resourced services and the immediate safety of women at risk today.

Progress on the strategy has also been slow and contested. Publication has been repeatedly delayed, drawing cross‑party frustration from MPs and concern that the stop‑start process is creating instability for services. Leading organisations have described development of the plan as “chaotic” and insufficiently radical, with limited engagement of experts and survivors; a misstep for a strategy meant to rebuild trust and collaboration.

The test ahead

Specialist organisations warn that without adequate funding, governance clarity and genuine partnership with the women’s sector, the strategy risks becoming another cycle of ambition without delivery. For a policy branded as transformational, sidelining survivor and sector voices could prove corrosive.

The government’s focus on prevention and culture change is important — but unless matched by investment in local services, courts and policing, progress will remain uneven. The test is whether ministers can move beyond rhetoric to build the sustained, systemic change required to meet their own bold pledge.

The question now is whether this will amount to a decade-long national mission or another iteration of lofty promises and thin delivery. The government’s success will rest less on what the document says than on whether it can rebuild trust, maintain momentum and deliver consistent leadership over time.