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26th Report - Tackling Violence against Women and Girls

Public Accounts Committee HC 644 Published 16 May 2025
Report Status
Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations
33 items (18 recs)
Government Response
AI assessment · 33 of 33 classified
Accepted 19
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 11
Not Addressed 2
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Recommendations

18 results
2 Accepted

Improve government departments' understanding of domestic abuse survivors' experiences and local service demands.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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 March 2026, and the Home Office will continue its survivor-informed approach.
HM Treasury
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4 Accepted

Require Home Office to capture and share evidence of successful local VAWG initiatives.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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 and evaluating initiatives.
HM Treasury
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5 Accepted

Require Home Office to outline VAWG halving progress measurement and ensure departmental intelligence sharing.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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 will serve as the forum for departments to share relevant VAWG intelligence, with further details in the new VAWG Strategy.
HM Treasury
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6 Accepted

Mandate Home Office to outline greater emphasis on preventative VAWG measures and inter-departmental collaboration.

Recommendation
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, … Read more
Government Response 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, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance nearing completion and further details to be published in the Strategy.
HM Treasury
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7 Deferred

Require DSIT to outline Online Safety Act's impact on children's safety and VAWG prevention.

Recommendation
We are concerned that government departments’ approach to tech–enabled violence against women and girls is not sufficiently agile to address the threats posed by online harm. Tech–enabled VAWG is a rapidly evolving threat. For example, in 2024 the revenge porn … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented and describes the Department for Education's existing work on online safety in schools through statutory safeguarding guidance, filtering standards, and the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, which is under review. However, the response does not commit DSIT to writing to the Committee about the *impact of the Online Safety Act* as specifically requested.
HM Treasury
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8 Accepted

Home Office expresses confidence in 'Safer Streets' mission collaboration and accountability structures.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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.
HM Treasury
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9 Accepted

Home Office failed to sufficiently embed specialist VAWG sector expertise in strategy development.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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 survivor-informed approach.
HM Treasury
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13 Deferred

Home Office lacks comprehensive understanding and central coordination of cross-government VAWG spending.

Recommendation
The Home Office spent £149 million from April 2021 to the end of September 2024 tackling VAWG, with other government departments spending around £979 million over the period April 2021 to March 2024.28 However, the NAO found that throughout the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agreed with the recommendation, but deferred specific action on coordinating cross-government VAWG spending until after departmental budget allocations are finalised post-Spending Review, committing to update the Committee by Autumn 2025.
HM Treasury
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14 Deferred

Home Office acknowledges current lack of comprehensive VAWG spending data, promising future improvements.

Recommendation
We asked the Home Office about the potential implications of this on how well it can prioritise efforts and ensure that work is not being duplicated. The Home Office agreed it did not have a comprehensive account of exactly what … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to address the lack of a comprehensive account of VAWG spending across departments, with a target implementation date of Autumn 2025. However, specific funding allocations and cross-government spending coordination will only be determined after the upcoming Spending Review and departmental budget processes, with an update to the Committee promised at that time.
HM Treasury
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16 Deferred

Financial uncertainty significantly harms smaller 'by-and-for' VAWG services crucial for diverse survivor needs.

Recommendation
This financial uncertainty can have particularly devastating consequences on smaller, specialist organisations, including those run ‘by–and–for’ the people that they serve. Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse told us that funding ‘by–and–for’ services not only ensures adequate support for all survivors, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation, committing to ensure maximum financial stability for the VAWG sector, particularly specialist 'by-and-for' organisations, with a target implementation date of Autumn 2025. However, specific funding allocations and cross-government spending plans will only be clarified after the Spending Review and subsequent departmental budget processes, with an update to the Committee expected thereafter.
HM Treasury
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17 Accepted

Government lacks comprehensive understanding of effective VAWG interventions and mechanisms to share good practice.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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 to grow the evidence base, evaluate interventions, and trial innovative local solutions to improve understanding of what works.
HM Treasury
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18 Accepted

Home Office seeks to encourage local VAWG innovation by funding evaluations and test-and-learn initiatives.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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 via the Safer Streets Mission.
HM Treasury
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19 Accepted

Home Office plans to nationally disseminate effective VAWG approaches through the College of Policing centre.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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 interventions, and trial innovative local solutions, with findings to be published alongside the Strategy.
HM Treasury
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20 Accepted

Home Office evidence review highlights effective VAWG interventions but reveals data gaps.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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 initiatives, and trial local solutions via the Safer Streets Mission.
HM Treasury
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21 Accepted

Home Office VAWG prevalence measurement strategy uses limited data and undefined headline metrics.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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.
HM Treasury
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22 Accepted

Inadequate data recording obscures the full extent of VAWG, particularly for minoritised groups.

Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response 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 ensure comprehensive data collection and transparency across government departments.
HM Treasury
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23 Accepted

Inconsistent VAWG definitions across government impede consistent progress monitoring and accurate measurement.

Recommendation
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, … Read more
Government Response 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 all government departments.
HM Treasury
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33 Not Addressed

Online Safety Act contains loophole failing to legislate against non-consensual intimate imagery possession.

Recommendation
The Online Safety Act, introduced in October 2023, was designed to ensure that people are protected from harmful online content, notably children and young people. The Act legislates the removal harmful content from social media platforms.77 As of 16 March … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and sets a target implementation date of Winter 2025. However, while it details the implementation of the Online Safety Act and ongoing work to criminalize the *creation* of non-consensual intimate images, it does not explicitly commit to addressing the specific loophole of legislating against the *possession* of non-consensual intimate images.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (15)

Observations and findings
3 Conclusion Acknowledged
Short–term and fragmented funding hinder government departments’ efforts to maximise the impact it is having both at the local and national level. The Home Office spent £149 million from April 2021 to the end of September 2024 tackling VAWG. Meanwhile, other government departments spent around £979 million over broadly the …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and states that a transformational approach will be set out in the upcoming VAWG Strategy to ensure funding stability. It commits to writing to the Committee with an update on cross-government VAWG spending and long-term funding plans after the Spending Review and internal allocation processes are complete.
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1 Conclusion 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 …
Government Response 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 and is developing options for this joint team.
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10 Conclusion 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 …
Government Response 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 courts system across ten areas by March 2026.
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11 Conclusion Not Addressed
Women’s Aid also raised concerns over how well–equipped services were to provide the necessary support to all survivors, stating that there are only two refuges nationally that are wheelchair accessible.24 Written evidence submitted by Commonweal Housing highlighted that mothers with older sons may be considered unsuitable for many refuges, and …
Government Response Summary
The government states it has engaged with sector experts and survivors through various forums to shape the VAWG Strategy and will continue a survivor-informed approach. However, the response does not specifically address the concerns raised regarding the lack of wheelchair-accessible refuges or suitability of refuges for mothers with older sons.
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12 Conclusion 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 …
Government Response 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 improve outcomes for domestic abuse survivors in family courts across ten areas by March 2026.
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15 Conclusion Deferred
Written evidence submitted to the Committee highlights the impact that short–term funding settlements can have on locally run services’ ability to provide adequate, specialist support to survivors of VAWG. Women’s Aid told us that single–year finding settlements limit service providers’ ability to recruit and retain specialist staff as they are …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation on funding stability but states that final funding allocations and plans for cross-government VAWG spending are contingent on the upcoming departmental budget allocation process following the Spending Review. The Home Office commits to updating the Committee once decisions and clarity are obtained, by Autumn 2025.
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24 Conclusion 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 …
Government Response 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 published in the VAWG Strategy.
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25 Conclusion Deferred
The NAO found that, to date, the Home Office has made little progress developing measures to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG).58 The Home Office told us that it expects that reported rates of VAWG will increase initially due to an increase in trust in the system.59 However, stakeholders …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations and states that the forthcoming VAWG Strategy, due by September 2025, will place prevention at its core, detailing cross-government efforts, educational approaches, and early risk factor identification. Further specifics are contingent on the strategy's publication.
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26 Conclusion Deferred
Professor Katin Hohl told us that the most common age of survivors and perpetrators of sexual violence is between 11–20 years old.63 Evidence submitted by the Youth Endowment Fund suggested that 7% of girls and 6% of boys between 13–17 years old had experienced sexual violence in the last year. …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations and states that the new VAWG Strategy, due by September 2025, will prioritize prevention, focusing on education, challenging societal norms, and identifying early risk factors in children and families to reduce future perpetration and victimization. Further details will be in the forthcoming strategy.
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27 Conclusion Deferred
We asked DfE what work it was doing to protect children and young people as well as prevent them from becoming perpetrators in the future. DfE told us it was doing a lot work through early interventions of family support which it told us supported 60,000 families across England where …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations and states that the forthcoming VAWG Strategy, due by September 2025, will place prevention at its heart, detailing preventative measures, educational approaches, and early risk factor identification. Specific details on this joint work will be set out in the strategy.
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28 Conclusion Deferred
DfE also told us that it has made relationships and sex education (RSE) compulsory in schools since 2020, and in May 2024 revised the curriculum to include discussions on online harm, social media influencers, sharing of intimate imagery and upskirting as a new offence. In terms of evaluating the success …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations and states that the new VAWG Strategy, due by September 2025, will prioritize prevention, challenging societal norms, and educating children on relationships and consent. Further details on this approach will be set out in the forthcoming strategy.
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29 Conclusion Deferred
DfE also told us about Operation Encompass which is a police and education sharing partnership designed to deliver a more joined up approach to supporting children as survivors of domestic abuse.69 This work has a key role in supporting survivors, but also in preventing children from becoming perpetrators in the …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the observation, setting a target date of September 2025, but states that more detailed preventative measures will be set out in the forthcoming VAWG Strategy.
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30 Conclusion Deferred
We asked DfE specifically what role boys are playing in the prevention work it was delivering through the VAWG Strategy. DfE told us that there is not a part of the new VAWG Strategy specifically designed to address harmful attitudes amongst boys.71 DfE told us that it had expanded the …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations, stating that the new VAWG Strategy, due by September 2025, will integrate prevention, education, and early intervention to address harmful attitudes and behaviours among children and young people. Further specifics will be detailed in the forthcoming strategy.
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31 Conclusion 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 …
Government Response 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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32 Conclusion 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 …
Government Response 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 monitoring framework and expects finalized guidance on protecting women and girls online by end of 2025, while also legislating to criminalize non-consensual intimate images.
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