The Government has today published its long-awaited Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy.

The strategy is undoubtedly bold in its ambition, rightly recognising the true scale and nature of a national emergency that we witness every day through our support services – one that shatters lives, families and communities.

We also welcome the strategy’s whole-system approach, with a cross-government oversight and implementation structure.

However, we are not convinced that this strategy, as it stands, will achieve the government’s explicit aim of halving VAWG in a decade.

The strategy rightly acknowledges the vital importance of prevention and early intervention. However, given the immense breadth and complexity of the problem, it’s not clear that the proposals and investment in this area go far enough to address the root causes of violence and abuse, and deliver the generational change required.

While the government’s intention to use the Crime Survey for England and Wales’s combined estimate of the prevalence of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking is commendable, we have serious concerns about the ongoing lack of clear metrics to measure the prevalence of VAWG among those under 16 – an issue we and others have repeatedly raised during the strategy’s development. Disappointingly, there is a relative lack of focus on sexual violence and stalking throughout the strategy.

We welcome the investment of £550 million into victim support services over the next three years, but funding still falls far short of what is needed for the sector to meet rising demand and provide the long-term support victims deserve. Victims’ services are the absolute foundation on which this strategy stands, and that must be properly recognised and resourced.

This is a substantial strategy, and we will take the time to scrutinise it fully.

For now, we urge the government to match its ambition with the investment and urgency this crisis demands – and to ensure existing commitments are realised through meaningful, joined-up implementation. Only then can we hope to build a society where every woman and girl is safe, supported, and able to thrive.