Government’s efforts to address VAWG have not improved outcomes for victims

The report highlights that the Home Office has made little progress in developing measures to prevent VAWG and deliver long-term societal change. This was a key commitment in the VAWG Strategy and Domestic Abuse Plan.

The NAO has also identified that to achieve the Labour Government’s ambition of halving VAWG, the Home Office must provide strong leadership to the rest of government and review existing evidence to develop its new strategy.

Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, said: “The report confirms what we see on the ground, very little evidence of meaningful progress in tackling VAWG within the criminal justice system with police and other agencies often failing to implement policies and initiatives designed at addressing systemic problems.

“If the current government are going to get anywhere near their ambition of halving VAWG within a decade, and make a difference to the lives of women and girls blighted by this national epidemic, then we need to see a great deal more than their disappointing start to date. If they have a realistic plan, it has been slow to start and their messaging is poor.”

More than one in four women are estimated to be victims of sexual assault or attempted assault in their lifetime, and one in 12 women are victims of VAWG each year, although the actual number is likely to be much higher.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council reported that, in 2022/23, 20 per cent of all police-recorded crime was related to VAWG.

Caroline Harper, senior audit manager at the NAO, said: “VAWG is a significant and growing problem, affecting one in 12 women and causing significant harm.

“The Home Office leads the Government’s efforts to address VAWG, but to date these efforts have not improved outcomes for the victims of these crimes or the safety of women and girls more widely.

“The Home Office is not currently leading an effective cross-government response. It has a limited understanding of the extent of resources devoted to addressing VAWG across government and the impact this is having.

“Without this knowledge, the Home Office cannot be confident that the government is doing the best it can to keep women and girls safe.

“The new government has set an ambitious target to halve VAWG within the next decade. To meet this ambition the Home Office will need to lead a coordinated, whole-system response that addresses the causes of VAWG.”

She added: “The Home Office’s review of the existing evidence base could provide a foundation from which to develop the next strategy. But it will need to maintain a focus on continuous evaluation to ensure it can capture learning from local innovation and adapt its approach.

“The Home Office also needs to quickly establish the structures and incentives necessary to align all delivery partners behind the goal of reducing the significant harms caused by violence against women and girls.”

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said: “Women’s Aid welcomed the VAWG strategy, launched by the Government in 2021, which was intended to ensure a strong focus on prevention and a cross-government approach, but nearly five years on we share concerns raised in the new NAO report that there has not yet been the whole-system change needed to deliver meaningful outcomes for women and children.

“For us the biggest concern around the previous strategy, as identified by the NAO, is that the Government does not know how well it is doing in tackling VAWG. There is no consistent definition of VAWG across government and policing, nor a robust framework for monitoring and evaluating that is grounded in what works.

“As a result of this, it is impossible to know if progress is being made or not.

“In the upcoming strategy, there needs to be an agreed upon definition of VAWG which is used across departments and agencies, and clear metrics for measuring success focused on reducing harm, not solely incidents.

“The Government should take full advantage of the new VAWG advisory board and its sector representatives who have access to meaningful data and evidence on VAWG, and who are well placed to assess the impact of spending and commitments on VAWG across government.

“There is particular pressure on the new Government to provide a tangible VAWG strategy that can actually be delivered on, as they have made a pledge to halve this epidemic the next decade.

“The figures reported by the NAO are only the tip of the iceberg, and this problem is much larger than it would appear. We know that only one in five women report abuse to police, and as our recently published Annual Audit found 1.6 million women experience domestic abuse alone last year.

“VAWG is a national emergency, that can no longer be ignored. We need to see a funded plan that addresses and measures progress on prevalence as well as the harmful attitudes that drive VAWG, along with adequate funding to support services, so that women and children can be safe.”

The NAO report says while 78 per cent of the 126 commitments from the VAWG Strategy and Domestic Abuse Plan had been met by July 2024, several of these were not new, and many were activities such as holding meetings or publishing guidance.

“In July 2024 there were 25 commitments still to deliver – the Home Office originally planned to implement all commitments by December 2024 but has been behind schedule since the beginning of the VAWG Strategy,” it said.

“The Home Office made little progress developing measures to prevent VAWG and deliver long-term cultural and societal change, a key commitment in both the VAWG Strategy and Domestic Abuse Plan. Most prevention activities to date have focused on reducing reoffending rather than avoiding initial offences.

“Since 2021/22, the Home Office has spent at least £4.2 million on research into what works, but the projects funded have yet to provide significant insights to inform any future interventions.

“Meeting the Government’s ambition [of halving VAWG within a decade] will require strong cross-government leadership from the Home Office, supported by effective accountability to ensure all departments are pulling in the same direction.

“The Home Office will also need to review the existing evidence base to provide a firm foundation from which to develop the next strategy.”

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “Government’s efforts to tackle VAWG have not yet improved outcomes for the victims of these crimes.

“The lack of an effective, cross-government approach and a limited understanding of what works to help reduce these crimes, means the Home Office cannot be confident that government is doing the best it can to keep women and girls safe.

“The new government has set an ambitious target to halve VAWG within the next decade. A well-informed and effectively implemented cross-government response is needed, that addresses both the causes and the consequences of these crimes.”

Abigail Ampofo, interim chief executive officer of Refuge, said: “Sadly, the findings of today’s NAO report come as no surprise. We support thousands of survivors every year, so we know all too well VAWG is horrifically common. And yet, confidence in the justice system is at an all-time low, and every day survivors continue to be failed, which is having devastating and at times, fatal consequences.

“More surprisingly, the NAO report found that the prevalence of domestic abuse was lower in 2023/24 than in 2009/10, but we know data represents just the tip of the iceberg, as women face a myriad of barriers when reporting to the police.

“Underreporting, coupled with inconsistent data collection and new police recording rules introduced in 2023, may create a misleading impression that domestic abuse is on the decline, when from our experience as a service provider, this is not the case at all. Meanwhile, the report highlighted a rise in sexual assault, with 20 per cent of all police-recorded crime in 2022/23 relating to VAWG.

“We welcomed the Government’s pledge to halve VAWG within the decade, but while 78 per cent of the commitments made across both the Home Office’s VAWG Strategy and Domestic Abuse Plan were met by 2024, many of these commitments were not new, according to the report. And when a woman is being killed by a partner or ex-partner every five days in England and Wales, 78 per cent is not enough.

“The Government has vowed to take VAWG seriously, so it is incredibly disappointing to see the Home Office has underspent on its own VAWG budget by an average of 15 per cent between 2021/22 and 2023/24, particularly at a time when support services for survivors are facing immense financial pressure.

“Refuge has consistently stressed the importance of increased funding for the VAWG sector, as without it, the Government will not be able to achieve its goal of halving VAWG. Specialist services, many of which are at breaking point, urgently need investment to reverse years of chronic underfunding.

“We sincerely hope the Home Office’s new VAWG strategy, set to be shared in spring, will include a thorough, cross-government plan for tackling systematic shortcomings in the justice system, as well as improved funding provisions for lifesaving VAWG services.

“With the Spring Budget also approaching, we urge the Government to allocate ring-fenced, multi-year and sustainable funding for specialist organisations to ensure as

Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said: “An effective strategy to tackle and prevent violence against women and girls must sit across the whole of government because this work can not be done in siloes.

“The NAO have found the Home Office’s previous attempts at delivering a VAWG strategy were ineffective because it did not coordinate work across departments, draw on specialist expertise and lacked investment.

“We have been calling for better leadership and a stronger approach across government for many years. It is imperative that any new VAWG strategy comes with clear investment and spending commitments that match the scale and seriousness of an epidemic of offending. The lack of attention to prevention is deplorable, especially as we know VAWG is significantly under-reported.

“However, the worth of the VAWG strategy cannot be determined solely on a value for money basis. The harms of VAWG are so significant and far reaching that the societal importance of addressing it must be recognised.

“This government has a huge opportunity to learn from past mistakes and ensure that the next VAWG strategy is effective at addressing abuse and delivers on its mission to halve VAWG.”many survivors as possible can access vital support.”