Recommendation 27

HM Government Accepted in Part

Partially Accept. The Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. We have published our VAWG Strategy which sets out our plan to do just that, including bearing down on perpetrators so they do not reoffend. Effective rehabilitation of those who have perpetrated domestic abuse or sexual offences must include services and activity that address those individual risks and needs. HMPPS uses a wide variety of tools to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence, such as: • The “Building Choices” accredited offending behaviour programme, which takes a person-centred, strengths-based approach by targeting areas of criminogenic need. Studies have shown that accredited programmes can reduce average reoffending rates by anywhere from 5-36% depending on various factors including the programme being delivered, the quality of programme delivery and the responsiveness of participants. • Democratic Therapeutic Communities (DTCs), an accredited intervention that includes intensive group psychotherapy for those with complex emotional and interpersonal problems, who have often committed violent offences, including domestic abuse. DTCs are part of a wider pathway of intervention services that works with high-risk, high-harm individuals who are likely to meet the clinical threshold for a diagnosis of ‘personality disorder’, the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway, which HMPPS delivers jointly with the NHS across England and Wales. • Medication to Manage Problematic Sexual Arousal, which can be used by offenders with ongoing clinical needs who may continue to pose a risk of harm to others because their sexual offending behaviour is driven by obsessive thoughts about sex and display compulsive sexual behaviour. Building on an existing feasibility pilot in the South West of England, the Government is extending and expanding the pilot to the North West and North East regions, with further work taking place to establish the viability of a future national rollout and mandatory treatment. In response to a recommendation in the Justice Select Committee’s Tackling the Drugs Crisis in our Prisons report, the Government has already committed to providing the Justice Select Committee with a progress update on the manifesto commitment to improve access to purposeful activity in April 2026, which is crucial to reducing reoffending.