Last Updated: 19 August 2026 I Reading Time: Approx. 6 minutes
Summary
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains a serious issue across England and Wales, encompassing domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking, harassment and other forms of abuse. The scale of the problem has prompted the UK Government to describe VAWG as a national emergency and set an ambition to halve these crimes within a decade.
The Government’s latest Freedom from Violence and Abuse strategy, published in December 2025 and updated in May 2026, takes a whole-of-society approach focused on prevention, pursuing perpetrators and supporting victims and survivors.
For people affected by violence or abuse, understanding what support and legal options may be available is an important part of moving forward. This article looks at the latest position, the scale of the problem and the legal support available to victims and survivors.
Quick answer
Violence against women and girls is recognised by the UK Government as a national emergency. It includes domestic abuse, sexual assault, stalking, harassment and other forms of violence and abuse that disproportionately affect women and girls. The Government’s current strategy aims to halve VAWG within a decade through prevention, pursuing perpetrators and improving support for victims and survivors.
In this article
- What is violence against women and girls?
- Why is VAWG considered a national emergency?
- The latest VAWG statistics
- The Government’s strategy for tackling VAWG
- Protecting women and girls from violence and abuse
- Legal options for victims and survivors
- How GLP Solicitors can help
- Frequently asked questions
- Related services
Key takeaways
- VAWG affects millions of people every year, with women and girls disproportionately affected.
- Around 5.1 million people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025.
- The Government’s latest strategy aims to halve VAWG within a decade, using a combination of prevention, enforcement and victim support.
- VAWG can include domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking, harassment, forced marriage, so-called honour-based abuse and technology-facilitated abuse.
- Men and boys can also experience these crimes, although women and girls are disproportionately affected.
- Victims and survivors may have different legal options depending on what happened, including potential criminal injury compensation claims.
- Specialist legal advice can help someone understand their options without requiring them to navigate the legal system alone.
What is violence against women and girls?
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is an umbrella term covering a wide range of crimes and abusive behaviours that disproportionately affect women and girls.
This can include:
- Domestic abuse
- Sexual assault and rape
- Stalking
- Harassment
- Sexual harassment
- Coercive or controlling behaviour
- Economic abuse
- Technology-facilitated abuse
- Intimate image-abuse
- Forced marriage
- Female genital mutilation
- Exploitation and other forms of violence
The Government’s latest strategy recognises that VAWG can occur at home, in public, in workplaces, in schools and online. It also acknowledges that new forms of technology are creating additional ways in which abuse can be perpetrated.
Although the term focuses on the disproportionate impact on women and girls, men and boys can also be victims of domestic abuse, stalking, sexual violence and other forms of abuse.
Why is violence against women and girls considered a national emergency?
The scale and impact of VAWG have led to increasing recognition that these crimes require a coordinated response.
In December 2025, the Government formally described violence against women and girls as a national emergency and announced an ambition to halve these crimes within a decade.
This represents a significant development from the position when this article was originally published in 2024.
The Government’s current approach is based around three central objectives:
- Prevention and early intervention – addressing harmful attitudes and behaviours before violence occurs.
- Relentless pursuit of perpetrators – improving the response of policing and the criminal justice system.
- Support for victims and survivors – improving access to appropriate and trauma-informed support.
The strategy also emphasises that tackling VAWG cannot be the responsibility of the police and criminal justice system alone. It calls for action across government, public services, communities, businesses and wider society.
The latest statistics on violence against women and girls
The latest statistics demonstrate the scale of the problem.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in the year ending March 2025:
- 3.8 million people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse.
- Around 2.2 million women and 1.5 million men experienced domestic abuse.
- Approximately 1.4 million people experienced stalking.
- Around 900,000 people experienced sexual assault.
The ONS has also developed a combined measure of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking to monitor progress against the Government’s VAWG target.
Using this measure, approximately 5.1 million people aged 16 and over experienced at least one of these forms of abuse in the year ending March 2025. This represented 12.8% of women and 8.4% of men.
It is important to understand that this figure does not represent every form of VAWG. The Government’s strategy notes that other behaviours, including sexual harassment, online abuse and teenage relationship abuse, are not included in this combined measure.
Domestic abuse remains a major part of the problem
The latest ONS figures estimated that 7.8% of people aged 16 and over, around 3.8 million people, experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2025.
Around 9.1% of women experienced domestic abuse, compared with 6.5% of men.
The police recorded approximately 816,493 domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales during the same period.
These figures provide only part of the picture. Not every incident is reported to the police, and victims may face significant barriers when seeking help.
What is the Government doing to tackle VAWG?
The Government published its Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls in December 2025. The strategy was updated in May 2026.
Its central ambition is to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
The strategy takes a broader approach than simply responding after a crime has happened.
Prevention and early intervention
The Government aims to tackle the underlying attitudes and behaviours that can contribute to violence.
This includes work around:
- Healthy relationships
- Consent Challenging misogyny
- Educating young people
- Preventing abuse from escalating
- Tackling online harms
- Early intervention
The strategy places particular emphasis on preventing boys and young men from developing attitudes or behaviours that can contribute to abuse.
Pursuing perpetrators
The Government also wants to strengthen the response to perpetrators.
This includes improving policing, using intelligence and technology more effectively, and making public protection a priority across policing rather than something dealt with only by specialist teams.
The National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection was established with more than £13 million in Government funding to support police forces in responding to VAWG, including domestic abuse, rape, sexual offences and stalking.
The College of Policing’s current priorities include helping chief constables develop a whole-force response to VAWG.
Supporting victims and survivors
The Government’s strategy also recognises that support for victims can be fragmented.
It aims to improve access to services and embed a trauma-informed approach throughout the justice system.
The Government has also committed substantial funding for victim support, including £550 million over three years according to a June 2026 Government announcement.
Legal protection and support for victims
Experiencing violence or abuse can leave victims facing physical injuries, psychological trauma, financial difficulties and significant disruption to their lives.
The appropriate legal response will depend on the circumstances.
For example, someone experiencing domestic abuse may need advice about protection and family-related matters, while someone who has suffered a violent crime may potentially be able to pursue compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
Criminal Injury Compensation
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is a Government-funded scheme designed to compensate eligible victims of violent crime.
Importantly, you do not necessarily need to have obtained a criminal conviction to make a CICA claim. Eligibility depends on the circumstances and the requirements of the Scheme.
A solicitor can help you understand whether you may have a potential claim and what evidence may be required.
Evidence can be important
Depending on the circumstances, useful evidence may include:
- Police incident or crime reference numbers
- Medical records
- Photographs of physical injuries
- Evidence of psychological injury
- Witness information
- Correspondence
- Other documents relating to the incident
If you are considering a claim, it is sensible to seek advice as early as possible because time limits can apply to CICA applications, although exceptions may exist in certain circumstances.
How GLP Solicitors Can Help
At GLP Solicitors, we understand that seeking legal advice after experiencing violence or abuse can feel daunting.
Our specialist Criminal Injury Compensation team can advise eligible victims about potential compensation claims under the CICA Scheme.
We can help clients understand:
- Whether they may have a potential claim
- How the CICA process works
- What evidence may be relevant
- Whether time limits could affect their claim
- How an injury may be assessed
- What steps may be required to progress a claim
Every case is different, and compensation is not automatically available simply because someone has been the victim of a crime. Eligibility depends on the circumstances and the requirements of the applicable scheme.
Our role is to provide clear, practical legal advice so that clients can understand their options and make informed decisions.
If you are in immediate danger, however, your immediate safety should come first. Consider contacting the police or an appropriate specialist support service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Violence against women and girls, commonly abbreviated to VAWG, describes a range of crimes and abusive behaviours that disproportionately affect women and girls. It can include domestic abuse, sexual assault, rape, stalking, harassment, coercive or controlling behaviour, economic abuse, so-called honour-based abuse, forced marriage and technology-facilitated abuse. The Government’s current strategy takes a broad approach covering violence and abuse at home, in public, in workplaces, in communities and online.
Yes. The UK Government now describes violence against women and girls as a national emergency. Its December 2025 strategy sets an ambition to halve VAWG within a decade, focusing on prevention, pursuing perpetrators and supporting victims and survivors. The strategy applies differently across the UK’s nations because some policy areas are devolved, but the Government has emphasised the need for coordinated action.
The latest combined measure from the ONS found that approximately 5.1 million people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025. This included around 12.8% of women and 8.4% of men. The measure does not capture every form of VAWG, including some forms of harassment and online abuse.
Potentially. If you have been injured as a result of a violent crime, you may be eligible to make a claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. The rules are specific, and eligibility can depend on factors including the circumstances of the incident, the injuries suffered, reporting requirements and applicable time limits. A criminal conviction is not necessarily required. Specialist legal advice can help you understand whether you may have a potential claim.
In some circumstances, yes. A person who has experienced domestic abuse may potentially be eligible to make a claim under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, depending on the nature of the abuse and injuries suffered and the requirements of the Scheme. Domestic abuse can involve physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and economic abuse. If you believe you may be eligible, obtaining specialist advice can help you understand the evidence and time limits that may apply.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme has requirements concerning the reporting and cooperation of victims with the police. However, the circumstances of each case are different, and there can be exceptions or special considerations. If you have experienced violence or abuse, do not assume that you are automatically unable to claim because of concerns about reporting or because the criminal justice process did not result in a conviction. A solicitor can assess your circumstances and explain the relevant requirements.
If you are in immediate danger, prioritise your safety and contact the police or an appropriate emergency or specialist support service. If you are safe and considering your legal options, try to keep relevant evidence where it is safe to do so, such as medical information, photographs or correspondence. You may also wish to seek independent legal advice about potential criminal injury compensation or other legal remedies.
Related Services
Depending on your circumstances, the following GLP Solicitors services may be relevant: