A government strategy to stop violence against women set up in the wake of the killings of Sarah Everard and Sabine Nessa has failed, a watchdog has ruled.
Despite spending millions, the victims of violence against women and girls (VAWG) have not had improved outcomes with an “epidemic” of violence spiralling out of control.
VAWG is a “significant and growing problem” affecting one in 12 women, the National Audit Office (NAO) said, that the adding the Home Office “is not currently leading an effective cross-government response”.
The report will put pressure on Sir Keir Starmer’s government with Labour’s key pledge to halve VAWG in the next decade.
But the NAO said that to meet this target, the Home Office “will need to lead a coordinated, whole-system response that addresses the causes of VAWG”.
While the Home Office under the Conservatives created a dedicated team to lead its 2021 VAWG strategy, the NAO said the department had “found it challenging to get buy-in from other government departments”, with an oversight group working to progress the strategy not having met until a year after the launch.
It came as VAWG spiralled into a “national emergency” with more than one million violent crimes against women and girls recorded by police in 2022/23 accounting for just under 20 per cent of all police-recorded crime excluding fraud in England and Wales.
A ministerial oversight group for the strategy “only met four times in three years”, with Public Accounts Committee chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown saying: “It is disappointing that the Home Office does not know where money is being spent and whether it is making a difference.
“If the Home Office is serious about halving violence against women and girls within the next decade, it cannot continue relying on fragmented efforts.
“Government must take a hard look at the lessons from past strategies and develop a better understanding of what works – both to prevent these horrific crimes and improve outcomes for traumatised victims.”
The prevalence of sexual assault against women aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales was 4.3 per cent in 2023-24, up from 3.4 per cent in 2009-10, the NAO said.
In that same period, incidents of rape and sexual assault against women and girls recorded by police rose from 34,000 to 123,000, although the NAO said this could partly be explained by improved recording of such crimes.
The NAO report raised questions over funding, saying that in comparison to the 2021 illegal drugs strategy, there was no joint spending review bid prepared regarding the VAWG strategy, and noted historic Home Office underspending in this area.
The watchdog stated: “Our analysis suggests other government departments spent at least £979 million between 2021-22 and 2023-24.
“The Home Office has historically underspent its own budget allocated to the VAWG Strategy, by an average of 15% between 2021-22 and 2023-24.”
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “Government’s efforts to tackle violence against women and girls 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 violence against women and girls 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.”
Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove said the government’s target to halve VAWG within the next decade is “welcome, commendable, and necessary – but as this report makes clear, there remains a critical lack of understanding about what truly works”.
She added: “We know we cannot simply police our way out of this crisis; an effective strategy will require co-ordinated action across all sectors, with a shared vision underpinned by strong leadership from the centre. Departments must sing from the same hymn sheet and pull in the same direction. That much is clear.”
She emphasised the importance of listening to victims and funding support services appropriately.
A Home Office spokesperson said the report had looked at the previous government’s “failure to deliver systemic change”, and vowed that Labour was “delivering a step-change in the Government’s response”.
They said: “Over the last six months, we have wasted no time in taking action to better protect victims and pursue perpetrators. This includes launching new domestic abuse protection orders, starting the roll-out of domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms, strengthening the police response to spiking and stalking, and pioneering a truly cross-government approach to tackling these issues.
“We will not stop until we have a system that protects victims, supports their journey to justice and holds perpetrators to account.”
The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign, which was launched in partnership with the leading domestic abuse charity Refuge, to raise funds to build two houses for women and children escaping abusive partners.
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The initial £300,000 target was surpassed thanks to generous donations from readers. More than £500,000 in donations have flooded in so far, and plans are already underway for a second home.
The National Policing Statement for Violence Against Women and Girls found that at least one in every 12 women will be a victim per year – equating to two million women – with the exact number expected to be much higher because of crimes that go unreported.