Violence against women and girls: The story never goes away

In his latest exclusive blog for Cansford, Family Law blogger John Bolch looks at violence against woman and girls, in every day life, online 'influencers' and elsewhere...

When I look for a post to write here each month I will generally begin by looking at the top family law news stories of the past month.

This month I did not have to look far.

Of grave importance

When one comes across terms such as ‘national emergency’ and ‘epidemic scale of offending’, and a reference to data that is ‘staggering’, it is clear that we are dealing with a news story of grave importance that should not pass without comment.

The story emanates from a national policing statement on the subject of Violence Against Women and Girls (‘VAWG’) in England and Wales, published last month by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (‘NPCC’).

It is, of course, a story that never goes away.

But that must not be allowed to encourage complacency. Indeed, we should all be shocked into action by some of the figures referred to in the statement.

Shocking statistics

I can only really scrape the surface in this post, but here are some of the headline findings contained in the statement:

• Over one million VAWG related crimes (including stalking, harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence) were recorded during 2022/23, accounting for 20% of all police recorded crime.
• Police recorded VAWG related crime increased by 37% between 2018 and 2023.
• At least 1 in every 12 women will be a victim per year, with the exact number expected to be much higher. That equates to a shocking figure of over two million women. Every year.
• Child sexual abuse and exploitation increased by more than 400% between 2013 and 2022.

We are also informed that: “Not only is VAWG growing, but we are also seeing ever more complicated types of offending which causes significant harm to victims and society as a whole. One in every six murders related to domestic abuse in 22/23, with suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse rising year-on-year.”

The descriptions mentioned in the third paragraph above are not hyperbole.

Misogynistic influencers

Amongst the possible causes for this epidemic of VAWG there has been much speculation that so-called ‘misogynistic influencers’ bear a good deal of responsibility.

In an interview with The Independent Minister for Victims & Violence Against Women and Girls Alex Davies-Jones MP warned that misogynistic influencers are a threat to children in every school in the UK, and said that teachers across the country are concerned about how the growing popularity of misogynistic influencers is affecting pupils’ views.

Direct experience

And she has some direct experience of the work of these ‘influencers’, having been inundated with rape and death threats after voicing criticism of a certain well-known ‘influencer’ who will remain unnamed.

And she is not alone in her views. The police themselves have warned that online influencers are radicalising boys into extreme misogyny in a way that is “quite terrifying”.

I suppose that, rather like other unsavoury characters such as racists and Islamophobes, misogynists have always been there, it is just that the internet has provided them with a medium to spread their hate further than ever.

Whether this is resulting in an increase in the number of boys and men who hold misogynistic views, or is merely emboldening those who already held such views, I don’t know.

Whatever, we must clearly do all what we can to combat the influencers, through education and otherwise.

What is to be done?

And on the subject of responding to the problem, the police in their statement recommend a ‘4P’ approach:

• Prepare: forces must have the right culture, skills and resources  
• Protect: action is being taken to protect individuals, families and communities
• Pursue: perpetrators of violence are being relentlessly pursued
• Prevent: policing must work with partners as part of a whole-system approach

Sounds good, but what exactly this will mean in practice, we will have to wait and see.

Certainly, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, Deputy CEO of the College of Policing and NPCC lead for violence against women and girls, seems to be intent upon a robust response. She said:

“We are absolutely determined to turn the tide on violence and abuse faced by women and girls and will continue to work tirelessly to do better for victims.

“Our focus will always be to bring the men behind these pervasive crimes to justice. By enhancing the way we use data and intelligence, we will improve our ability to identify, intercept and arrest those causing the most harm in communities.

“We know that continuous improvement is needed to strengthen policing’s response to VAWG. Improvements must be driven nationally, ensuring consistency from force to force to give victims the service they expect and deserve.”

Trust must be rebuilt

But it is not just about the police finding perpetrators and bringing them to justice. As we all know, failures in the recent past have left trust in the police at a low ebb in many quarters. That trust must be rebuilt, so that victims are prepared to come forward.

And the response to the problem must obviously go way beyond the justice system. As mentioned above, education is a key. Schools, parents, and the trusted media all have a job to play in getting the message across that VAWG is utterly wrong, and will not be tolerated.

Yes, the story of VAWG will never go away, but surely we can reduce it from its hideous present levels.

(And finally, one last thought - if you are, or someone you know, is experiencing abuse or you need help signposting to various services, then please click through to find a list of organisations and helplines here.