Government prioritisation of prevention
Immediately, the Government should take action to make it clearer that preventing sexually motivated offences against women in public is an essential part of tackling violence against women and girls. This should include: a. ensuring this Report and the prevention strategy inform future Strategic Policing Requirements; b. committing to a positive ambition that these crimes are preventable, not inevitable; c. ensuring a clear focus on these crimes in neighbourhood policing roles; d. providing a full response to the 2025 Independent Pornography Review by February 2026.
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Jess Phillips made a written statement to Parliament (HCWS1122) on 2 December 2025 accepting all 13 Part 2 recommendations, announcing £13.1 million in funding and pledging to halve violence against women and girls within a decade (Written Statement HCWS1122, 2 December 2025).
- The government published a new Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in December 2025 (VAWG Strategy, Home Office, December 2025).
- The recommendation was accepted less than 4 months ago at the time of this assessment.
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State Jess Phillips made a written statement to Parliament (HCWS1122) on 2 December 2025 accepting all 13 Part 2 recommendations. The government announced £13.1 million in funding to deliver a coordinated approach through the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection, and committed to putting police vetting standards on a statutory footing to exclude those with cautions or convictions for violence against women and girls offences. The government pledged to halve violence against women and girls within a decade and to embed expertise from programmes such as Operation Soteria and Project Vigilant across police forces.