Recommendations & Conclusions
19 items
2
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
Government departments do not have a realistic understanding of the experiences of survivors seeking support, nor the demands faced by local services on the ground. Government departments appear to have a starkly different understanding of the support provided to survivors of domestic abuse who seek support in their local communities …
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Government departments do not have a realistic understanding of the experiences of survivors seeking support, nor the demands faced by local services on the ground. Government departments appear to have a starkly different understanding of the support provided to survivors of domestic abuse who seek support in their local communities compared with the reality. We were particularly concerned to hear that the Ministry 3 for Housing, Communities and Local Government believes that in the majority of cases domestic abuse survivors are met with adequate support from their local authority, as this does not align with what we have learnt from our constituents. It is also clear that this disjointed understanding extends to departments’ understanding of the demands being felt by support services locally. The Chief Executive of Women’s Aid told the Committee that the demands being faced by charities are increasing both in volume and complexity. For example, an increased demand for specialist mental health support for victims and survivors of violence against women and girls following the COVID–19 pandemic. Developing technology is also contributing to changes in the nature of abuse and the methods used by perpetrators. Wider pressures on services are exacerbating these demands, for example the housing crisis is making it even harder for local authorities to provide survivors with safe accommodation and, in turn, increasing the demand for temporary refuges. Wider demands on the justice system also mean that the criminal justice process is taking longer, with family courts processes becoming harder to navigate, thus increasing the demand on independent advocacy services (IDVAs). We are particularly concerned to hear that it is common for survivors to find going through the family courts processes to be almost more abusive than having experienced abuse by the perpetrator, seeing the courts as harmful, misogynistic spaces. recommendation As part of its Treasury Minute response, th
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, detailing its survivor-informed approach through VAWG roundtables, the DAC’s VOICES network, and a Survivor Summit. The Ministry of Justice's Private Law Pathfinder project is running in six court areas and will extend to four more by …
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HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
The Home Office has a limited awareness of initiatives proving effective so cannot use this information to improve its understanding of what works to prevent and reduce violence against women and girls. The Home Office acknowledges that departments do not have a strong understanding of what works to tackle violence …
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The Home Office has a limited awareness of initiatives proving effective so cannot use this information to improve its understanding of what works to prevent and reduce violence against women and girls. The Home Office acknowledges that departments do not have a strong understanding of what works to tackle violence against women and girls. Written evidence submitted to the Committee highlighted many examples of successful locally run initiatives and the Home Office may be missing opportunities to learn from good practice. While the Committee accepts that what works in some local areas may not be appropriate to be rolled out more broadly, if the Home Office is to improve its understanding of what works within the context of constrained resources, it must ensure it is benefitting from all the evidence that already exists. The Home Office has sought to improve its understanding of what works by conducting a review of the available evidence, with the aim of using this to inform its new strategy. The Committee is encouraged to hear that this work has provided some valuable insights, and it is vital that the Home Office does all it can to identify and share lessons learnt from local initiatives. recommendation Prior to the launch of the new VAWG Strategy, the Home Office should set out how, over and above what it has done in the past, it will capture and share evidence of successful initiatives at the local level, to continually inform its understanding of what works to prevent and reduce violence against women and girls. 5
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Government response AI summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented through ongoing work supporting the VAWG Strategy, including conducting in-depth evidence reviews and stakeholder workshops. It highlights the Safer Streets Mission as the existing infrastructure for collating and sharing evidence and commits to continually growing the evidence base …
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HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
There are considerable gaps in the Home Office’s understanding of the scale of violence against women and girls, which will undermine its efforts to target interventions and monitor progress against its ambition to halve VAWG. To improve its chances of success, the Home Office must outline clearly how it intends …
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There are considerable gaps in the Home Office’s understanding of the scale of violence against women and girls, which will undermine its efforts to target interventions and monitor progress against its ambition to halve VAWG. To improve its chances of success, the Home Office must outline clearly how it intends to measure progress against its ambition to halve the prevalence of VAWG in a decade. This approach must be understood and accepted by all relevant government departments, and there must be clear milestones within this 10–year period to support effective accountability. The Home Office intends to use the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) to measure prevalence, but acknowledged that the survey does not collect data on all crime types, nor does it collect responses from under–16s. The Committee is concerned that monitoring progress in this way fails to adequately reflect the broad range of abuse types, and will therefore only present a partial view of how trends in prevalence are changing over time. Gaps in data make it difficult to develop a suitably agile response to VAWG. It is currently impossible to track a single case through the entire criminal justice system due to limitations in available data. Additionally, while education and healthcare settings can often be where some VAWG crimes first become apparent, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), and the Department for Education (DfE) do not routinely capture or share appropriate intelligence with the Home Office. recommendation As part of its Treasury Minute response, the Home Office should set out how it will: • Measure progress against its ambition to halve VAWG in a decade, demonstrating what alternative indicators will be used to measure progress in those areas not covered by the Crime Survey for England and Wales; and • Ensure all relevant departments, notably DHSC and DfE, are sharing intelligence relating to VAWG appropriately, to build up government’s understanding of the scal
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will measure progress against its ambition to halve VAWG using a new combined headline metric from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), supported by additional metrics on repeat domestic abuse, sexual harassment, and female homicides. The Safer Streets Mission …
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HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
We are concerned that, to date, the approach to tackling violence against women and girls has not put enough emphasis on preventative measures that are necessary to achieve long–term change. Although it is imperative that all survivors receive effective support, government needs to do more to prevent perpetrators committing these …
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We are concerned that, to date, the approach to tackling violence against women and girls has not put enough emphasis on preventative measures that are necessary to achieve long–term change. Although it is imperative that all survivors receive effective support, government needs to do more to prevent perpetrators committing these crimes in the first instance. It is shocking to hear that the most likely age range to become a survivor or perpetrator of sexual violence is between 11–20 years old. Many government departments have significant roles to play if 6 sustainable change is to be achieved, particularly those working closely with children and young people. For example, it is vital that DfE prioritises this issue and does more to educate children and young people on healthy relationships to reduce the chance of them becoming perpetrators in the future. We are not convinced that DfE is doing all it can to support work with young boys to prevent harmful attitudes perpetuating. Work such as Operation Encompass (a police and education sharing partnership designed to deliver a more joined up approach to supporting children as survivors of domestic abuse) shows the key role that education can play in tackling this issue by supporting survivors, but also in preventing children from becoming perpetrators in the future. However, neither Home Office nor DfE could tell us the proposed start date of implementation. We welcome these sorts of initiatives but remain unconvinced that DfE is prioritising this issue sufficiently and doing all it can to prevent these crimes occurring. recommendation As part of the Treasury Minute response to this report, the Home Office should outline: • how it intends to put greater emphasis on preventative measures over and above work it has done previously through its upcoming Strategy, to achieve long–term change; and • how it will work with other relevant departments, notably the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, MHCLG and MoJ, to ensure
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will put greater emphasis on preventative measures in the forthcoming VAWG Strategy, focusing on challenging societal norms, educating children, and identifying early risk factors. It highlights ongoing collaboration with departments like DfE, DSIT, MHCLG, and MoJ, with the review of Relationships, …
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HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Home Office, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG).1 We …
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On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Home Office, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG).1 We also took evidence from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs DBE; the Chief Executive Officer of Women’s Aid, Farah Nazeer and the independent advisor to government on criminal justice responses to sexual violence, Professor Katrin Hohl.
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Government response AI summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented through robust governance and accountability structures set up under the Safer Streets Mission, including a dedicated VAWG Ministerial Group and Mission Board. It has also accepted the NAO recommendation to establish a cross-Whitehall team to monitor VAWG commitments …
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HM Treasury
8
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
The Home Office told us that one of the many benefits of the ‘Safer Streets’ mission is that it will create a framework for collaboration across government and beyond.15 It told us that progress will be overseen by a mission board, which has met four times since September, and the …
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The Home Office told us that one of the many benefits of the ‘Safer Streets’ mission is that it will create a framework for collaboration across government and beyond.15 It told us that progress will be overseen by a mission board, which has met four times since September, and the sub–board (including Home Office and MoJ Ministers), which has met three times. The Home Office, which has responsibility for delivering the ‘Safer Streets’ mission, also spoke positively about the accountability structures that are in place to scrutinise government’s progress against the mission objectives via the Prime Minister’s regular stock–takes.16 Understanding the demand of local services
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Government response AI summary
The government stated the recommendation is implemented, detailing robust existing governance and accountability structures for the Safer Streets Mission, including a VAWG Ministerial Group, Mission Board, and Prime Minister’s stocktakes, and noting acceptance of an NAO recommendation for a cross-Whitehall team.
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HM Treasury
9
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
Throughout its 2021 VAWG Strategy, the Home Office did not make the most of the available expertise and knowledge, for example by engaging with the voluntary sector to understand the demands being faced on the frontline.17 Evidence submitted by End Violence Against Women (EVAW) expressed the importance of departments consulting …
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Throughout its 2021 VAWG Strategy, the Home Office did not make the most of the available expertise and knowledge, for example by engaging with the voluntary sector to understand the demands being faced on the frontline.17 Evidence submitted by End Violence Against Women (EVAW) expressed the importance of departments consulting sector experts to ensure that their knowledge and understanding is being used to inform the Government’s approach, and that there is clarity and transparency around this engagement. EVAW told us that the expertise of specialist VAWG sector should be embedded in the development and review of the new VAWG strategy.18 Charity representatives told the NAO that it was not clear how Home Office’s engagement with them had been used to inform government’s approach, throughout the 2021 VAWG Strategy, and felt that the invitee list to meetings was very long, limiting the scope for discussions about issues which disproportionately impact survivors from marginalised groups.19 13 VAWG0076 14 Q 23 15 Q 23 16 Q 24 17 C&AG’s Report, para 13 18 VAWG0083 19 C&AG’s Report, para 2.18 12
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees the recommendation is implemented, stating it has shaped the upcoming VAWG Strategy through ministerially-chaired roundtables with sector experts and regular stakeholder meetings. It has also engaged extensively with survivors via the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s network and summit, and commits to continuing a …
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
Women’s Aid told the Committee that the demands being faced by charities are increasing both in volume and complexity.20 For example, demand for specialist mental health support for survivors has increased following the COVID–19 pandemic, with over 45% of people in refuges now presenting with mental health problems.21 Women’s Aid …
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Women’s Aid told the Committee that the demands being faced by charities are increasing both in volume and complexity.20 For example, demand for specialist mental health support for survivors has increased following the COVID–19 pandemic, with over 45% of people in refuges now presenting with mental health problems.21 Women’s Aid described the current situation as a “crisis”, and explained that refuges have to refuse 65% of requests for a place and community–based services can only support 50% of people who ask for help.22 Written evidence submitted to the Committee highlighted how external factors such as housing shortages and the increased cost–of–living are exacerbating these demands. It is therefore becoming increasingly difficult to provide victims and survivors with safe accommodation, in turn increasing demands on temporary refuges.23
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, highlighting ongoing engagement with experts and survivors to shape the VAWG Strategy. It also details the expansion of the Ministry of Justice’s Private Law Pathfinder project to support domestic abuse survivors through the criminal and family …
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HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
The Committee is aware of examples where domestic abuse survivors did not receive adequate support. Examples shared during our evidence session included women turning to an MP’s advice surgery for support having struggled to be rehomed despite engaging with the local authority and housing association.26 The 2021 Domestic Abuse Act …
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The Committee is aware of examples where domestic abuse survivors did not receive adequate support. Examples shared during our evidence session included women turning to an MP’s advice surgery for support having struggled to be rehomed despite engaging with the local authority and housing association.26 The 2021 Domestic Abuse Act introduced a new statutory duty making MHCLG responsible for ensuring all domestic abuse survivors have access to refuges or another safe form of accommodation. This duty requires local authorities to assess the need for accommodation– based support in their area and develop a strategy for providing such support. MHCLG told us that it’s understanding is that in the majority of cases survivors are supported to find safe accommodation by the local authority, funded through MHCLG. We noted that in our experience it is clear that what MHCLG described is not routinely happening and the examples we had heard were in no way unusual.27 20 Q 6 21 Q 7 22 Q 3 23 VAWG0040, VAWG0050 24 Q 7 25 VAWG0055 26 Q 25 27 Q 26 13 Funding a whole-system response
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states it has implemented the recommendation, highlighting ongoing efforts to shape the VAWG Strategy with victim input through roundtables and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s VOICES network. It also details the expansion of the Ministry of Justice’s Private Law Pathfinder project to …
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HM Treasury
17
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
Government departments have a limited understanding of what works to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG). Since 2021–22, the Home Office has spent at least £4.2 million on new research into what works, but the projects funded are not complete and have yet to provide significant insights to inform …
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Government departments have a limited understanding of what works to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG). Since 2021–22, the Home Office has spent at least £4.2 million on new research into what works, but the projects funded are not complete and have yet to provide significant insights to inform future interventions.39 Written evidence submitted to the Committee highlighted some examples of successfully run local interventions.40 The NAO found that, under the implementation of the 2021 strategy, the Home Office did not have a formal mechanism for identifying and sharing good practice with these organisations.41
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees the recommendation is implemented, stating it has conducted extensive evidence reviews, engaged with stakeholders and academics, and is using the Safer Streets Mission to collate and share successful initiatives. It commits to publishing this work alongside the new VAWG Strategy and continuing …
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HM Treasury
18
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
We asked the departments how they planned to learn from these local initiatives to support government’s understanding of what works. The Home Office recognised there was local variation, but said it did not wish to mandate a single approach to tackling VAWG nationally, as it felt this would stifle local …
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We asked the departments how they planned to learn from these local initiatives to support government’s understanding of what works. The Home Office recognised there was local variation, but said it did not wish to mandate a single approach to tackling VAWG nationally, as it felt this would stifle local innovation and assume that every community is identical.42 The Home Office told us that it wants to continue to encourage local variation by continuing to fund small local charities to carry out evaluations effectively. This includes bidding into the £100 million Cabinet Office fund for test–and–learn initiatives to help support these evaluations.43
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees the recommendation is implemented, detailing its work to review evidence and engage stakeholders for the VAWG Strategy. It specifically commits to "test-and-learn" opportunities to trial innovative local solutions and will continue to grow the evidence base, evaluate initiatives, and share successful approaches …
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HM Treasury
19
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
The Home Office also spoke about certain things working well and its desire to roll them out nationally. An example provided was through the national centre for VAWG and public protection, a team set up in the College of Policing and sponsored by the national police lead for VAWG–Chief Constable …
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The Home Office also spoke about certain things working well and its desire to roll them out nationally. An example provided was through the national centre for VAWG and public protection, a team set up in the College of Policing and sponsored by the national police lead for VAWG–Chief Constable Maggie Blyth. The Home Office told us that this team will collate approaches taken by different police forces and disseminate nationally the ones proven most effective.44 39 C&AG’s Report, para 12 40 For example: VAWG0025, VAWG0027, VAWG32, VAWG40 41 C&AG’s Report, para 13 42 Q 66 43 Q 65 44 Q 66 16
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees the recommendation is implemented, detailing its work on evidence reviews and stakeholder engagement for the VAWG Strategy. It also highlights the use of the Safer Streets Mission to collate and share evidence on successful initiatives, committing to grow the evidence base, evaluate …
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HM Treasury
20
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
The Home Office has also sought to improve its understanding of what works by conducting a review of the available evidence at a national level, which it intends to publish with the new VAWG strategy, in summer 2025.45 Officials told us that this work has provided some valuable insights on …
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The Home Office has also sought to improve its understanding of what works by conducting a review of the available evidence at a national level, which it intends to publish with the new VAWG strategy, in summer 2025.45 Officials told us that this work has provided some valuable insights on the importance of education; bystander interventions; screening to identify domestic abuse survivors; perpetrator programmes and therapeutic support. However, there was weaker evidence around what sorts of communications campaigns really work, and whether there is a greater role for specialist courts.46 Gaps in data and inconsistent definitions
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees the recommendation is implemented, explaining its extensive efforts to improve understanding of what works through in-depth evidence reviews, stakeholder engagement, and academic workshops, with findings to be published alongside the VAWG Strategy. It will also continue to grow the evidence base, evaluate …
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HM Treasury
21
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
Government has set an ambition to halve the prevalence of violence against women and girls in the next decade. To measure progress against this ambition, the Home Office told us it intends to use prevalence estimates from Crime Survey for England and Wales data (CSEW).47 We asked the Home Office …
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Government has set an ambition to halve the prevalence of violence against women and girls in the next decade. To measure progress against this ambition, the Home Office told us it intends to use prevalence estimates from Crime Survey for England and Wales data (CSEW).47 We asked the Home Office how it would account for the fact that the CSEW only collects responses from individuals over the age of 16 and only includes prevalence estimates for some VAWG crime types; rape, domestic abuse, other sexual offences and stalking.48 The Home Office told us that it has agreed three headline metrics, that will be used in combination to track progress against its ambition to halve VAWG, although it did not outline specifically what these will be. The Home Office told us its approach to measuring progress will include a basket of sub–metrics to help address some of the gaps in data available.49
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the recommendation, outlining a broad suite of metrics by September 2025 to measure progress on tackling VAWG, including a headline CSEW-based prevalence measure, supporting headline metrics, and a range of sub-metrics to be detailed in the new VAWG Strategy.
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HM Treasury
22
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
Written evidence submitted to the Committee highlighted the importance of ensuring all specific VAWG crime types are reflected within this target, and that there is transparency over how these crimes impact different people. Southall Black Sisters told us that the full extent of harms perpetrated against Black, minoritised and migrant …
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Written evidence submitted to the Committee highlighted the importance of ensuring all specific VAWG crime types are reflected within this target, and that there is transparency over how these crimes impact different people. Southall Black Sisters told us that the full extent of harms perpetrated against Black, minoritised and migrant survivors is not known due to inadequate data recording. They also stressed the importance of addressing the gaps in data by monitoring how different trends emerge by protected characteristic and by crime type.50 Professor Katrin Hohl told us that without data, government departments can have no idea the prevalence of specific crime types, and have no ability to understand what is working to reduce VAWG.51 45 Q 21; C&AG’s Report, para 16 46 Q 62 47 Q 46 48 C&AG’s Report, para 3.18 49 Q 46 50 VAWG0078 51 Q5 17
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will implement a broad suite of new metrics, including headline and sub-metrics, to measure VAWG prevalence and monitor trends by September 2025. Further details on data sources and measures will be published in the new VAWG Strategy to …
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HM Treasury
23
Recommendation
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
There are also different definitions of VAWG used across government, which makes it difficult to monitor progress in a consistent way. For example, the definition of VAWG used by the Home Office includes all victims and survivors of VAWG–related offences, regardless of whether they are men or women, boys or …
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There are also different definitions of VAWG used across government, which makes it difficult to monitor progress in a consistent way. For example, the definition of VAWG used by the Home Office includes all victims and survivors of VAWG–related offences, regardless of whether they are men or women, boys or girls. Whereas, in contrast, the police definition only includes VAWG–related offences perpetrated against women and girls.52 Despite the police defining VAWG in a different way, the Home Office told us that this will not impact its ability to measure progress, as it does not consider police–recorded crime an accurate measure of prevalence. The Home Office told us that this is because police data is likely to underreport the true scale of VAWG, stating that underreporting levels can be between one in six and one in five.53 Research submitted by Dr Caroline Miles and Professor Rosemary Broad found that 68% of 498 women surveyed had experienced VAWG whilst out running, but only around one in 20 of these women reported to the police.54
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the recommendation, outlining a broad suite of metrics by September 2025 to measure progress on tackling VAWG, including a headline CSEW-based prevalence measure, supporting headline metrics, and a range of sub-metrics to be detailed in the new VAWG Strategy, involving contributions from …
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HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
The lack of clear definitions for some specific VAWG crime types also contributes to these challenges. The Domestic Abuse Commissioner told us that the government needs to decide a clear definition of so–called ‘honour’–based abuse55 while Professor Katrin Hohl described the current definitions of tech–faciliated abuses as “flimsy”.56 Written evidence …
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The lack of clear definitions for some specific VAWG crime types also contributes to these challenges. The Domestic Abuse Commissioner told us that the government needs to decide a clear definition of so–called ‘honour’–based abuse55 while Professor Katrin Hohl described the current definitions of tech–faciliated abuses as “flimsy”.56 Written evidence submitted by the Muslim Women’s Network UK calls for official definitions of other recognised forms of abuse such as spiritual abuse and transnational abandonment (a type of domestic abuse) that are not currently mentioned across either the 2021 VAWG Strategy or 2022 Domestic Abuse Plan.57 52 C&AG’s Report, para 10 53 Q 46 54 VAWG0006 55 Q 4 56 Q 8 57 VAWG0026 18 3 Prevention Progress on prevention
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will implement a broad suite of metrics by September 2025 to comprehensively measure VAWG, including a new headline prevalence measure and various sub-metrics for specific VAWG forms, such as online VAWG. Further details on these measures and data sources will be …
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HM Treasury
31
Conclusion
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
Tech–enabled violence against women and girls refers to the use of technology to perpetrate violence, harassment, or abuse. Crimes include online harassment; image–based abuse (including the sharing of intimate imagery of perpetrator to victim, without the victim’s consent); revenge porn (the sharing of intimate images of the victim by the …
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Tech–enabled violence against women and girls refers to the use of technology to perpetrate violence, harassment, or abuse. Crimes include online harassment; image–based abuse (including the sharing of intimate imagery of perpetrator to victim, without the victim’s consent); revenge porn (the sharing of intimate images of the victim by the perpetrator, sometimes referred to as NCII (non–consensual intimate imagery)) and many more. Statistics show that tech–enabled VAWG is a rapidly evolving threat. For example, in 2015, the revenge porn helpline received 521 cases compared with 22,000 in 2024.73 Written evidence submitted by Miss Amy Moir highlighted Ofsted’s ‘Review into sexual abuse in schools and colleges’ which found that nearly 90% of girls, and nearly 50% of boys said that being sent explicit pictures of things they didn’t want to see happens a lot or sometimes to them or their peers.74
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee’s observation and is implementing the Online Safety Act, legislating to criminalize non-consensual intimate images, and monitoring impact through trackers, with Ofcom publishing guidance by the end of 2025.
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HM Treasury
32
Conclusion
26th Report - Tackling Violence against…
Accepted
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner also highlighted how developing technology is also contributing to changes in the nature of abuse and the methods used by perpetrators.75 The Gender and Tech Research Lab at University College London, claims that technology has transformed the landscape of VAWG crimes, and highlighted reporting by domestic …
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The Domestic Abuse Commissioner also highlighted how developing technology is also contributing to changes in the nature of abuse and the methods used by perpetrators.75 The Gender and Tech Research Lab at University College London, claims that technology has transformed the landscape of VAWG crimes, and highlighted reporting by domestic abuse charity, Refuge, which showed 72% of their cases involved a technology element as of 2019.76 71 Q 94 72 Qq 91–93 73 Q 56 74 VAWG0003 75 Q 14 76 VAWG0012 21
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees, outlining that the Online Safety Act's illegal content and child safety duties are or will soon be in force, and DSIT will analyze Ofcom's Online Experiences Tracker from October 2025 to assess impact. DSIT is also working with Ofcom to develop a …
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HM Treasury