Policy context
While this needs assessment and the following strategy is focused on the borough of Camden, it sits amongst various national and regional policies and strategies which provide useful context and can inform local approaches.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021[25]
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 created a clear legal definition of domestic abuse in the UK, recognising not only physical and sexual violence but also threatening, controlling, coercive, economic, and psychological abuse. It applies to people aged 16 and over who are personally connected, whether the abuse happens once or repeatedly, and includes situations where harm is directed at someone else, such as a child. Importantly, the law recognises children as victims if they witness, hear, or feel the effects of abuse within their family.
The Act places firm duties on local authorities to prevent DVA and support those affected, requiring them to provide accommodation-based support and guaranteeing priority housing for homeless victims/survivors. It also protects secure tenancy rights for social housing tenants forced to move because of DVA.
In 2022, statutory guidance was issued to help agencies understand the impact of abuse, respond effectively to different groups’ needs, and work together through coordinated, multi-agency approaches. This guidance underlines the importance of risk assessment, the unique role of health services, and ensuring children’s safety and wellbeing alongside that of adult victims/survivors.
National Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2021[26]
The Government launched the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in 2021, which was a replacement of a previous strategy which ran until 2020. The strategy explains that VAWG refers to acts of violence or abuse known to disproportionately affect women and girls, but the strategy itself refers to all victims/survivors of offences such as rape and other sexual offences, DVA, stalking, honour-based abuse, and online offences.
The strategy’s ambitions are to increase the support for victim/survivors; increase the number of perpetrators brought to justice; increase reporting to the police; increase victim engagement with police and wider public services; and reduce prevalence of VAWG. It notes that a cross-system, coordinated approach is necessary to achieve these ambitions. The strategy notes that a coordinated, cross-system approach is necessary to achieve the ambitions alongside the following actions: prioritising prevention, supporting victims/survivors, pursuing perpetrators, and strengthening the system.
At the time of writing, a new cross-government VAWG strategy is being developed. This will set the direction over the next ten years to deliver the Government’s ambition to halve VAWG in a decade, and set out commitments to prevent violence, support victim/survivors, and bring perpetrators to justice. This is currently expected to be completed in September 2025.
Equality Act 2010[27]
This Act is a consolidation of prior anti-discrimination legislation to protect people against discrimination, harassment, or victimisation based on the characteristics of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, and belief. These characteristics are known as ‘protected characteristics’. Within the legislation there are duties for public organisations to ensure unlawful conduct under the act is eliminated, ensure equality of opportunity for people with the protected characteristics listed above, and ensure the relationships between people with a shared protected characteristic and those who do not share that protected characteristic – especially in their procurement and commissioning arrangements.
Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan 2022[28]
The government’s Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan builds on previous strategies and complements the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy published in 2021. It seeks to deliver aspects of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 by working to prevent DVA from happening, providing more support to victim/survivors, and implementing stronger management of and consequences for perpetrators.
The plan looks to address four major problems identified from evidence and data: (1) the high prevalence of DVA; (2) the loss of life caused by DVA; (3) the negative health, emotional, economic, and social impact on victims and survivors during and after DVA, and (4) improving the system, collaboration, and data in order to identify more cases of DVA and increase the system’s understanding of DVA.
Online Safety Act 2023[29]
This Act protects children and adults by giving providers new duties to protect and reduce the risks to their users through systems and processes. This includes preventing children from accessing age-inappropriate content through age-checks.
The Act specifies that the content and activity that users need to be protected from is that relating to: child sexual abuse; controlling or coercive behaviour; extreme sexual violence; extreme pornography; fraud; racially or religiously aggravated public order offences; inciting violence; illegal immigration and people smuggling; promoting or facilitating suicide; intimate image abuse; selling illegal drugs or weapons; sexual exploitation; and terrorism.
The behaviours and content specified in the Act are either actions and activities which are specified in the VAWG definition, or closely related to them. This close alignment highlights the importance of recognising the role online activity can have within VAWG and the opportunities it presents for prevention and response. This is further evidenced by the number of victim/survivors of online VAWG supported by the technology team at Refuge increasing by over 250% between 2018 and 2022.[30]
Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHR) - Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004
Under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004[31], a Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) is a review of the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from DVA. A significant proportion of DHRs involve cases where a victim of DVA has died by suicide. Reviewing suicides linked to DVA is an important step and critical to improving understanding of risk factors for both victim/survivors and perpetrators, strengthening early interventions, and preventing further tragedies.
A Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) is an opportunity for national and local agencies, local communities, and society as a whole to pay attention to each individual victim and to treat every death as preventable. Since the guidance was last reviewed, the government committed to reforming the DHR process in the 2022 Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan.[32] The reform package included driving systematic change across government, implementing mandatory training for DHR Chairs, enhancing the oversight mechanism for DHRs and refreshing the statutory guidance. See Chapter 4 for more detail including how DHRs are conducted in Camden.
Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities 2018[33]
The Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities 2018/22 outlines how councils should fulfil their duties under the Housing Act 1996, Homelessness Act 2022, and Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, with clear provisions for supporting victim/survivors of DVA. It confirms that those made homeless by DVA must be prioritised for accommodation, and that no referral should place them or their household at risk.
The guidance emphasises the need for trained staff who can identify victim/survivors, assess their needs, and work with other councils, commissioners, VAWG groups, and refuge providers to ensure policies and practices do not disadvantage victim/survivors. DVA is defined broadly to include physical violence, threats, intimidation, harassment, economic abuse, coercive control, and honour-based abuse.
Authorities are expected to take reasonable steps to help victim/survivors remain safely in their homes where possible, or to provide secure alternative accommodation if not. Social services must cooperate with housing authorities, including sharing relevant safeguarding data and projections relating to DVA.
Improving Access to Social Housing for Victims/Survivors of Domestic Abuse 2022[34]
This guidance assists local authorities to apply allocation legislation to support DVA victim/survivors to move into social housing from temporary arrangements. The guidance relates to the Housing Act 1996, and is in addition to the statutory guidance on social housing allocations, providing social housing for local people, and guidance on the Right to Move.
The aims of the guidance include ensuring a consistent approach to considering housing applications from victim/survivors of DVA in temporary accommodation, that victim/survivors are given appropriate prioritisation, and are not disadvantaged by residency or local connection requirements.
Women’s Health Strategy for England 2022-2032[35]
The Department of Health and Social Care published this strategy which contained seven priority areas, of which the health impacts of VAWG was one. The priority area states that the health impacts of VAWG is both a public health issue and criminal justice issue, and sets out the following ambitions:
Prevention and reduction of VAWG is prioritised by the health and care system
Women and girls who are victims/survivors of violence or abuse are supported by the healthcare system and in the workplace including increased focus on prevention, early identification and provision of victim/survivor support
Greater awareness among the general population of healthcare services that provide specialist treatment and support for sexual violence and FGM
NHS and social care staff who are victims/survivors of VAWG are better supported in the workplace by employers and colleagues, and know how to access support they may need.
Learnings and recommendations from the Domestic Homicide Reviews for health should be embedded.
Sexual Offences Act 2003[36]
The Sexual Offences Act (2003) provides details of what is considered to be a sexual offence, and the necessity to prevent and protect children from harm. It includes a definition of consent and criteria for offences where consent is not required to be proven (e.g. specific sexual offences against children and people with a mental disorder in specific circumstances).
Protection from Harassment Act 1997[37]
The UK Government signed the Harassment Act into law in 1997. Within the act both harassment and stalking are defined as breaches of law.
The following behaviours are set out in the act as those associated with stalking:
Contacting or attempting to contact a person
Publishing a statement or material relating or purporting to relate to a person, or purporting to originate from a person
Monitoring the use of the internet, email or electronic communication by a person
Loitering
Interfering with the property that belongs to a person
Watching / spying on a person
The act also states that causing another person to fear violence (on at least two occasions) is in breach of the law if they know that their behaviour or actions will cause another person to reasonably fear the consequences of the behaviour or action. It also states that causing someone to have serious alarm or distress to the point at which it as a significant negative effect on that person’s day-to-day life is an offence.
Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003[38]
The Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Act defines FGM as a criminal offence and the acts which are included within the definition of FGM – such as excision, infibulation or other mutilation of part of or all of a girl’s labia majora, labia minora, or clitoris.
It established that people in regulated professions (e.g. healthcare professionals and teachers) are required to notify the police of FGM, as well as a duty for local authorities to do what they can to prevent FGM through raising awareness and working with communities to change perceptions and attitudes, alongside a responsibility to support victim/survivors of FGM from practical and specialist health services to emotional support.
Modern Slavery Act 2015[39]
This Act establishes definitions for modern slavery and exploitation as well as the penalties, prevention orders, and required actions and support to protect victim/survivors. Within the Act, it states that exploitation includes when a person is subjected to force, threats, or deception in order to cause them to provide services, provide benefits to another person, or enable another person to acquire benefits.
London VAWG Strategy 2022-2025[40]
The VAWG Strategy for London published by The Mayor of London has taken a public health approach to addressing VAWG with prevention at its centre and a focus on education and partnership working. It sets out four priority areas for London: (1) preventing and reducing VAWG; (2) Supporting all victim/survivors; (3) Holding perpetrators to account; and (4) Building trust and confidence.
Within the strategy, key principles for the approach are set out: making decisions based on data and evidence, prioritising early intervention and prevention, placing communities at the heart of change, develop immediate and long-term solutions with partners, and evaluate activities to understand what works. The strategy ensures that victim/survivors are at the centre of the strategy and the work that stems from it. The strategy also states that the actions of perpetrators will have consequences which hold them to account, alongside the goal of reducing offending and changing behaviour.
London’s health partners renewed their commitment to the strategy and the public health approach at a summit in late 2023. As part of this commitment, they signed up to six core pledges (below) which look to integrate tackling VAWG into every aspect of the service they provide.
Recognise all forms of VAWG in everything we do
Embed action to end perpetration of VAWG
Work together to actively tackle VAWG
Strengthen workplace safety
Promote a collaborative learning environment
Ensure an anti-misogynistic environment
At the time of writing it is expected that the refreshed Mayor’s VAWG Strategy will be published in autumn 2025.
London Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Strategy 2025 – 2028[41]
The Mayor of London has published a refresh of their original domestic abuse safe accommodation strategy which ran from 2021 to 2024, based on a pan-London needs assessment and updated equalities impact assessment. The strategy is part of the Mayor’s duty within the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The strategy’s objectives are:
A clear and coordinated network of support in safe accommodation for all victim/survivors
Accessible and inclusive services that meet the diverse needs of all victim/survivors
Services and accommodation that are physically and psychologically safe, of high quality, and use up-to-date and appropriate practice
A system of various organisations across sectors that works across specialties and geographies, and is centred on victim/survivor outcomes
A sustainable and robust sector, which is funded to best meet victim/survivors’ needs
Additional relevant legislation and policy include:
Care Act 2014 – The Care Act modernised social care in England, placing duties on local authorities to promote wellbeing, prevent needs, safeguard adults, support carers, and ensure smooth transitions from children to adult services.
Children Act 1989 – The Children Act 1989 set the framework for child welfare and protection, outlining parental and local authority responsibilities to safeguard children at risk, including in situations linked to VAWG.
Children Act 2024 – The Children Act 2024 aims to ensure co-operation between public bodies to improve children’s wellbeing and for them to have arrangements in place to safeguard and promote wellbeing.
National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2023–2028 – This strategy prioritises high-risk groups (e.g., children, middle-aged men, DVA survivors, people in justice or mental health systems) and addresses risk factors such as financial hardship, isolation, and abuse, many of which overlap with VAWG.
Guidance for the NHS and Police
The 2017 DHSC guidance[42] remains the official national resource for healthcare professionals responding to DVA and continues to provide a valid foundation for practice. However, it is now increasingly complemented - and in some areas challenged - by newer guidance, critiques, and planned reforms. In practice, health professionals should continue to refer to the 2017 document for core principles while also engaging with more recent developments, including the Royal College of Nursing’s updated guidance published in 2023[43] and evolving statutory definitions and training requirements relating to issues such as honour-based abuse.
The police response to DVA in England is currently grounded in the statutory framework established by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see above), which introduced a comprehensive legal definition of domestic abuse, including coercive control, and established protective tools such as Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders (DAPOs/DAPNs), now being piloted by the College of Policing. Complimenting this statutory base, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and College of Policing released a refreshed VAWG Framework for Delivery (2024–27)[44], offering guidance and assessment mechanisms under a “4P” model (Prepare, Prevent, Protect, Pursue) to guide police implementation and improve coordination.
Evidence & best practice for addressing VAWG
Taking a public health approach
It is widely recognised that taking a public health approach to tackling VAWG is beneficial and is able to recognise the complexities of the issue. The public health approach involves a comprehensive strategy that as well as including holistic support for victim/survivors, also focuses on different types of prevention, earlier identification and intervention by the system/professionals, and perpetrator accountability.
The methodology uses a data driven assessment of the issue, identification of the risk factors and protective factors for a range of causes and across the life course, developing effective interventions across the life course and with both short- and long-term impact, and mobilising effective partnerships to ensure a coordinated and collaborative approach to the issue.
The public health approach also advocates for recognising and responding to individuals as ‘whole people’ by understanding the experiences, characteristics, and situations which may impact them and their circumstances. It also advocates for taking a family-centred approach where possible - which means consideration and support for all those in a family impacted by violence and abuse, as well as holding perpetrators to account and perpetrator programmes. This approach ensures that the needs of everyone who is impacted by the violence/abuse is supported and prevents risks and behaviours being passed onto the younger generations, therefore breaking any cycles that the adults in their lives may have experienced.
Finally, by looking to address and prevent violence across the life-course, it ensures each opportunity to intervene is considered and acted on to prevent future harm. A life-course approach also recognises that VAWG is something that can recur and have life-long consequences on those involved.
This approach needs to also be informed by intersectionality. An intersectional approach to VAWG recognises how sex intersects with other forms of inequality and oppression - such as sexuality, gender identity, ethnicity, indigeneity, immigration status, and disability (see risk factor section below) - to shape unique experiences of violence. This perspective highlights the varied ways violence/abuse is perpetrated and experienced across different groups. Crucially, an intersectional framework does not rank inequalities or oppressions; women and girls should not be expected to prioritise one aspect of their identity or experience over another when seeking support for VAWG.
In order to identify risk factors, evidence and best practice of interventions that reduce and prevent VAWG, a search was done of the evidence available from system leaders and large programmes of work, as well as a literature search which was conducted with the support of the UK Health Security Agency Knowledge and Library Services team. Upcoming Camden Council reports for projects which are relevant are also included in Appendix 4.
Population level risk factors
Population patterns versus individual prediction
Whilst this section describes the factors associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing VAWG including DVA, these are best understood as ‘population-level risk factors’ that highlight patterns and inform prevention strategies, rather than for screening or predictive tools for individual risk. Over-reliance on risk profiles could result in both stereotyping and overlooking those who do not fit identified categories and can result in inaccuracies in identifying high-risk victims/survivors. Similarly, while the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment, and Honour-Based Violence (DASH) Risk Checklist is a tool widely used in practice, concerns have been raised about its validity and reliability as a predictive tool. It was developed as a structured method for information gathering rather than a means of determining future risk and should therefore be applied with caution. In line with recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), risk assessment tools are most appropriately used alongside professional judgment, the perspectives of those at risk, and ongoing review within a holistic safeguarding approach.
Summary of population-level risk factors
Evidence suggests that there are certain risk factors which increase the risk of VAWG and/or barriers to seeking support. In particular, intimate partner violence can be linked to poverty, patriarchal privilege and norms which are accepting of violence in inter-personal relationships.[45]
Risk factors are often related to or described as a characteristic a person has or inequalities they experience. However, it is important to recognise the intersectionality which occurs across these types of risk factors in particular. Alongside the data presented in this needs assessment, this type of evidence can be used to identify the moments across the life-course which can be opportunities for prevention and intervention.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective-longitudinal studies[46] reviewed 60 studies and conducted a meta-analysis of 35. The risk factors that had the strongest evidence were unplanned pregnancy and having parents with less than a high school education (a possible proxy for low economic status). On the other hand, being older or married were found to be protective factors against violence. This study is a good example of how factors can be seen as either a risk or protective based on statistics, but it may not reflect the reality as we know women who are older and married can also be victim/survivors of VAWG.
Disabled women and girls are twice as likely to experience violence and abuse than those without a disability, yet the reporting and referral rates for disabled women is very low and they tend to experience abuse for longer before accessing support services.[47] Often this is due to a lack of services that account for additional needs of those with disabilities (e.g. need for interpreters or difficulty using online services), a lack of advocacy available, and a lack of awareness and understanding of how disability (including hidden impairments) relates to DVA and VAWG more broadly.
Women from Black, Asian, and other minoritised groups have been found to experience additional barriers when accessing VAWG support[48] including language barriers and no access to independent interpreters, social isolation from the wider community, family and community norms/pressure, a lack of trust in and/or fear of the authorities, immigration concerns, and a fear of their children being removed by social services.
The guidance for healthcare practitioners working with migrant women from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) notes that women who have experienced forced migration are at increased risk of experiencing VAWG throughout and after their migration journey.[49]
Members of the LGBT+ community have an increased risk of abuse both within intimate relationships[50] and throughout childhood. They are additionally at risk of abuse and violence related to their gender. Furthermore, due to the prevalence of homophobia and transphobia within society this community also experiences barriers when accessing services and disclosing or reporting abuse and violence.
Faith and religion may affect a person’s understanding of and response to VAWG. Similar to other groups, the potential to be isolated from wider society or be excluded from their own community may be a barrier to reporting and accessing services. However, it is important to recognise that faith and religion can also be beneficial for victim/survivors.
People involved in prostitution or sex work are at increased risk of violence and abuse from a range of perpetrators, and more likely to experience VAWG from a number of different people than those who are not involved in these activities.[51] They are also less likely to report violence and access services or support due to stigma and fear of punishment.[52]
In addition to the above, there are also factors that may increase the likelihood of experiencing DVA specifically (as one type of VAWG), and these include:
Sex – Women are more frequently affected than men.[53]
Age – Highest risk for women aged 16–24 and men aged 16–19.[54]
Sexual orientation and gender – Around 80% of trans people or gender-variant individuals (including people that cross-dress, transgender, and transsexual people) report emotional, physical, or sexual abuse from a current or former partner. Additionally, 38.4% of bisexual, gay, and lesbian people say they have experienced DVA.[55]
Long-term illness, disability, or mental health conditions – People with a physical disability are about twice as likely, and those with a mental illness about three times as likely, to be victims of DVA.[56],[57],[58]
Relationship breakdown – The period during or shortly after separation carries a heightened risk, including threats to physical safety, often due to the perpetrator feeling a loss of control.[59],[60]
Pregnancy and the postpartum period – While pregnancy can reduce risk for some women, it increases it for others.[61]
Low socio-economic status – Although DVA occurs in all social classes, financial hardship, limited income, or reduced access to support networks can elevate the risk.[62]
As highlighted above, caution is warranted when applying risk factors at the individual level; they should not be used as a proxy for predicting individual risk but rather as a means of informing broader prevention and safeguarding strategies.
Intersectionality
The term ‘intersectionality’ has been used to understand women’s experiences at the intersection of a number of simultaneous oppressions including (but not limited to) race, class, caste, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, nationality, immigration status, geographical location, religion and so on. VAWG and DVA are shaped by intersectionality, with factors such as ethnicity, disability, immigration status, sexual orientation, and socio-economic background often overlapping and compounding barriers to safety and support. Victim/survivors from marginalised groups often face reduced access to services.[63]
Opportunities for intervention
This section will look at the evidence for interventions related to reduction in VAWG, DVA, and violence in general. It looks at different levels of and opportunities for prevention/response across the following areas: policy; data driven prevention; primary prevention; early identification and intervention; response and support; and breaking cycles / intergenerational prevention.
Policy
In 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) published their ‘RESPECT Women: Preventing Violence Against Women’ guidance for policymakers. It includes seven strategies for preventing violence against women which create the RESPECT acronym.
Relationship skills strengthened
Empowerment of women
Services ensured
Poverty reduced
Environments made safe
Child and adolescent abuse prevented
Transformed attitudes, beliefs and norms
There are multiple areas and approaches which have been identified as effective interventions and opportunities to intervene in order to prevent and reduce VAWG. These are summarised below, however, there are still opportunities to innovate and do things differently. The College of Policing has also compiled an evidence briefing of interventions which reduce VAWG in public spaces[64] which provides more detail about some of the interventions below (e.g. additional environmental interventions such as Neighbourhood Watch and increasing police presence at night).
Data driven violence prevention
There is compelling evidence supporting the implementation of interventions aimed at enhancing the quality of violence-related data for the purpose of targeting more effective intervention strategies.
The beginning of the Cardiff Model dates to 2001 when it was introduced as a response to the underreporting of a significant portion of violent incidents to the police. There are three key components of the model:
Continuous data gathering within hospital Emergency Departments, focusing on detailed aspects of violence such as location, timing, weapons used, and the number of perpetrators involved.
Regular anonymisation and sharing of this information by hospitals with crime analysts. These analysts merge and synthesise data from both the police and Emergency Departments to pinpoint areas and timeframes where violence is most concentrated.
The combined data is then utilised by a Violence Prevention Board to inform and shape violence prevention efforts.
Information sharing and use were associated with a substantial and significant reduction in hospital admissions related to violence. In the intervention city (Cardiff) rates fell from seven to five a month per 100 000 population compared with an increase from five to eight in comparison cities.[66] An evaluation of the project revealed that it reduced the economic and social costs of violence in Cardiff by £6.9 million in 2007 compared with the costs the city would have experienced in the absence of the programme.[67]
Primary prevention
Primary prevention to reduce VAWG focuses on addressing the root causes of violence and creating conditions that prevent it from occurring in the first place. It involves a range of strategies and interventions aimed at changing social norms, attitudes, and behaviours to promote sex and gender equality and prevent violence. Primary prevention strategies may also address systemic factors like discriminatory laws, poverty, and sex and gender inequality.
Several promising violence prevention initiatives have been successfully delivered in school settings, these include Fourth R, Healthy Relationships Programme, Shifting Boundaries, Safe Dates and Stepping Stones. They are primarily aimed at reducing adolescent dating violence and a number of these programmes have been evaluated in robust randomised-controlled trials demonstrating evidence of behaviour change and decreased rates of perpetration (see spotlight – Safe Dates).
There are several examples of family-based educational interventions that are often delivered in community settings such as clinics or schools. They seek to improve parenting skills and parents’ ability to foster their children’s development. There are a number of high-profile programmes that target parents with children presenting with behavioural problems, including Triple P (developed in Australia to help parents deal with problem behaviours); Incredible Years (developed in the US and based on video vignettes and group-based role-play of parenting situations); and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) (developed in the US, which provides coaching to parents on specific techniques to improve interactions with their children).
Safe Dates is a comprehensive program involving educational and community-based initiatives designed to foster primary and secondary prevention of dating violence. Its core objectives encompass the transformation of norms related to partner violence, the reduction of gender stereotypes, and the enhancement of conflict resolution abilities. Within school settings, the program features a theatre production, a structured 10-session curriculum, and a poster contest. In the broader community context, it encompasses services aimed at assisting adolescents caught in abusive relationships, along with training for community service providers. Compared with controls, adolescents receiving Safe Dates reported significantly less physical, serious physical, and sexual dating violence victimisation and perpetration 4 years after the program.[69]
On a societal level, effective primary prevention includes advocating for and implementing policies and legislation that protect the rights of women and girls and hold perpetrators accountable. These policies may include DVA laws, sexual harassment policies in workplaces, and anti-discrimination laws.
Education
Changing the social norms which support and encourage violence is a key opportunity for educational interventions for all age groups. However, the evidence of effectiveness is limited. Evidence has shown that developing young people’s life and social skills can be a protective factor against violence.[70] Therefore, educational interventions are often associated with legislation and policy which seeks to change behaviour and norms. Furthermore, focusing on this primordial, preventative intervention shifts the focus onto those who can prevent VAWG and reducing the likelihood or being a perpetrator. Evidence has shown that addressing unequal gender power relations can lead to a change in attitudes and behaviours relatively quickly.[71]
To be successful, educational interventions need to account for the group being engaged with or targeted through the intervention. A systematic review of education interventions to address FGM found that sociodemographic factors, socioeconomic factors, traditions and beliefs, and intervention strategy, structure, and delivery were associated with the effectiveness of the intervention.[72]
Another systematic review which reviewed interventions addressing the social norms and reduction of inequity in gender relations[73] found interventions need to focus on multiple risk factors and at different levels of intervention (e.g. community, family, individual) to shift the perception of masculinity, power, and oppression, and the elements within society which enable them.
Examples of effective educational interventions include the improved understanding of consent which has been achieved through a multi-faceted approach via school-based interventions and parallel awareness raising campaigns in wider society, and is now common parlance in the UK. Whilst the evidence review did not identify studies explicitly examining the links between violent or problematic pornography and VAWG, this absence should not be interpreted as a lack of association. This remains an area warranting further exploration and focused research.
School-based interventions
In England, the current education curriculum includes compulsory education regarding relationships and sex. During primary school this focuses on the building blocks of healthy relationships (with a focus on family and friends), and information about what it means to be healthy.[74] In secondary school the curriculum focuses on understanding health and risky behaviour such as alcohol and drugs, and having positive and healthy intimate relationships.[75]
What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls is a programme funded by the UK Foreign Office. The programme produced an evidence summary[76] which reviewed 36 school-based interventions with a primary focus on preventing violence from around the world. It found that the key features which were apparent in all the successful programmes were:
Engagement with the wide range of factors that drive violence in the wider school and community via a whole school or whole community approach.
To change attitudes and norms it required several sessions, with the most effective programmes being delivered over several years. Sessions are often short but occur frequently (at least weekly) to reinforce knowledge and behaviour change.
Staff are carefully selected, and they are provided with sufficient time to train and support them.
Approaches which focused on participatory and group-based work enabled critical reflection and the development of life skills including coping with stress, conflict resolution, empathy, and communication skills. This can be done through sports and play to make the interventions fun and age-appropriate.
Interventions reviewed within the summary that specifically worked with boys to prevent violence against girls were most successful when they were explicit in their attempt to change attitudes and norms, as well as promoting positive bystander actions (such as how to safely intervene) while reducing negative bystander actions. The most effective interventions were delivered by trained teachers or mentors using participatory methods to enable critical reflection on gender relations and their use of violence, and were of sufficient intensity.
Future efforts should place greater emphasis on understanding how online environments — including social media, digital misogyny, and problematic pornography — shape norms and behaviours, and how these can be addressed through healthy relationship education and prevention work.
Bystander intervention
Bystander intervention training helps people to understand how to intervene safely to prevent and stop violence. It is an essential aspect of improving safety for women and girls, especially in public spaces, and moving the focus of approaches being on potential victims to those who can prevent the violence from taking place.
A study which reviewed the implementation of community-level bystander intervention training in the UK[77] found there were promising outcomes with participant feedback being consistently high and a significant change observed in behavioural intent and bystander efficacy.
The College of Policing created an evidence briefing of bystander programmes in 2022.[78] The briefing found that most programmes were school-based and can be successful in improving the following factors when delivered by well-trained individuals and using age-appropriate and culturally relevant approaches: (1) identification of situations where intervention is necessary; (2) the sense of responsibility for and confidence in intervening; (3) warning signs of sexual assault and how to intervene; and (4) reduction of the rape myth acceptance. However, there is no evidence of bystander programmes that impact gender attitudes, and limited evidence of a positive impact on date rape attitudes. Bystander programmes such as Green Active Bystander Communities have shown promising results, particularly when delivered in university settings (see spotlight Green Dot).
The Green Dot program employs bystander training to actively involve witnesses in the prevention of situations with an immediate or potential risk of violence. It aims to enhance individuals’ self-efficacy, offering skill development and specific strategies that increase the likelihood of trained individuals intervening effectively. Green Dot’s objective is to transform the acceptance of violence among trained students and engage them as potential bystanders who can take safe and effective action to reduce the risk of interpersonal violence within their social circles and communities.
Through this training, students learn to identify situations and behaviours that might lead to violence or abuse. The program is tailored to various age groups, ranging from primary school to secondary school, college, and the broader community. The programme was evaluated in a cluster randomised-controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness at both school and individual levels in the US. It found that the training was associated with reductions in both perpetration and victimisation of sexual violence, sexual harassment, and physical dating violence among sexual majority yet not sexual minority[80] youth.[81]
Online safety and interventions
While most VAWG data is related to person-to-person violence, online VAWG can take many forms, especially harassment, stalking and threats. In addition, the sharing and creation of images which can be shared with or used against someone is a form of VAWG. Therefore, it is important for people to understand what constitutes online VAWG, what the Online Safety Act 2023 protects against, and how people can protect themselves and others from this type of violence. As of 17 March 2025, platforms have a legal duty to protect their users from illegal content online. Ofcom (the government-approved for broadcasting, internet, communication, and postal industries in the UK) are actively enforcing these duties and have opened several enforcement programmes to monitor compliance.
While the Online Safety Act mentioned above was welcomed by DVA and VAWG groups, many feel more can be done to protect people from these types of abuse and protect victim/survivors from further abuse. In particular, the reliance on the platform providers to implement the necessary systems and processes is one that requires monitoring and enforcement.
The preventative approach to online safety is key, especially for young people who are often online and the incidence of peer-to-peer victimisation which may not be visible to parents and carers. Therefore, school-based interventions and awareness raising to ensure young people are able to detect and intervene against online VAWG early, as well as understanding how to report this content is essential. It is also the most common proactive method of tacking online VAWG.
The All-Parliamentary Group on Domestic Violence produced a report about tackling DVA in a digital age in 2017.[82] The report noted the role of online providers in preventing online VAWG alongside specialist training to ensure responses to this type of crime is effective. The report also noted that the police needed training and support to effectively tackle online abuse and to do so consistently. However, the report acknowledged that tackling the causes of inequality and misogynist attitudes will be key to preventing online abuse, reinforcing the importance of school/education-based interventions. These recommendations are echoed by the Centre for Emerging Technology and Security[83] which noted that the root causes of VAWG need to be tackled to prevent online VAWG, but that improving the police response and holding technology providers to account are opportunities for immediate intervention alongside investment to enable additional research in this space.
Earlier identification and intervention by system/professionals
Earlier identification and intervention seeks to prevent violence before it occurs, or approaches that intervene early once violence has already happened to prevent it from continuing.
Earlier intervention – training and resources
As set out in the NICE guidance and other evidence, ensuring staff are properly trained regarding VAWG and feel confident about the action they should take is key to ensuring victim/survivors are identified and supported early and effectively. It is important that the training not only focuses on raising awareness and understanding of the nuances and complexity of VAWG but also the pathways and processes for referral. Furthermore, as discussed below, training in how to communicate and act in a trauma-informed and culturally competent way is crucial to a positive engagement with the person requiring support.
The Identification and Referral to Improve Safety Programme[84] provided online training to GPs to better support people experiencing DVA. It also included signposting and information for male victim/survivors and for perpetrators. Although the programme was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic it found that GPs were more aware of DVA and more confident in talking to patients about abuse after the training. GPs also reported that the programme’s single, clear pathway of referral to a named worker and its focus on fostering expertise on diversity were highly beneficial.
A study of child protection practitioner responses to children and young people involved in forced marriage[85] were found were more likely to effectively respond when they identify a child who is in a forced marriage when there was clear local policy and guidance, access to good training and risk assessments, and a high standard of inter-agency work locally. With these resources and networks available practitioners are able to work proactively and assertively.
A review of Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews published in 2024[86] by Standing Together found at least 89% had at least one recommendation for either health professionals or the health system. Common themes in the reviews were a lack of learning over time and between locations, a need for training and learning amongst healthcare professionals, and improved practice in the intersection between mental health and DVA. It is important to recognise the crucial role that health and care staff have and can play when identifying, preventing, and responding to VAWG. Therefore, providing high quality training regularly alongside embedding best practice into ways of working can have significant impact.
It is crucial to not only think of health and care professionals when considering who would benefit from training in how to identify and address VAWG. For example, faith leaders could play a key role both within their communities and across wider society, as well as voluntary sector staff, education staff, and frontline local authority staff (e.g. repairs and housing officers).
Safety in public spaces
In order to enable women and girls to feel safe in Camden, creating safe public spaces where they can enjoy the space without fear or experience of violence is important. This can be implemented through laws and policies that prevent and respond to violence in public spaces, as well as investment in public spaces.
A summary of the evidence for improving women and girls’ sense of safety in public spaces submitted to the Government’s Public Accounts Committee for VAWG[87], states that data from the Office of National Statistics (2021)[88] shows that women in Britain are significantly more likely to feel unsafe when walking alone, especially in parks and open spaces. They also reference data from Girlguiding in 2020 which indicates that 40% of girls 11-21 feel unsafe outside.[89] The submission also notes that the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that young people are at increased risk of sexual violence in public spaces.[90] They also reference a project in West Yorkshire which found that while there is significant variation in what helps women and girls to feel safe in public parks, the common factors include parks that are well used, especially by other women and girls. The work in West Yorkshire has developed three themes to guide action to improve women and girls’ safety in public parks: (1) Eyes on the Park – well-used parks with visible women and staff; (2) Awareness – able to clearly see their surroundings and be seen; and (3) Inclusion – a sense of belonging and familiarity.
A narrative review of academic articles which identified the factors which contribute to a sense of safety found that it is both built environment and societal characteristics that need to be considered.[91] With regards to the built environment street lighting and visibility, walking path conditions and cleanliness, presence of security and surveillance, and the degree of openness are all directly associated with a perception of safety. Although the built environment influences a woman’s perception of safety, their perception of safety is also impacted by their age, socioeconomic status, cultural context, personal individual risk acceptance, and expectation of risky behaviour from others. For example, women from global majority ethnicities tend to have higher safety concerns in public spaces. The review also notes that improvements to the built environment are highly likely to positively influence the surrounding community which will further improve people’s sense of safety in the area.
Responding to VAWG
Responding to and most interventions for VAWG are aimed at mitigating the negative consequences and addressing the needs of those who have already experienced violence. These interventions focus on helping victim/survivors recover, rebuild their lives, and prevent further victimisation. They play a role in breaking the cycle of violence, making perpetrators accountable and preventing repeat offending. A report commissioned by the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) has highlighted restorative justice and cognitive behavioural therapy for offenders and prison education programmes as interventions that have promising evidence for their effectiveness. Restorative justice encompasses victim-offender conferencing, family group conferencing, mediation or arbitration, community sentencing, restitution to the victim/survivor, and reparative boards.
Support for victim/survivors
In December 2021, the Camden Women’s Forum conducted an inquiry into DVA.[92] It noted that victim/survivors experience inequalities when reporting abuse and violence and accessing services, and that by centring disproportionality and intersectionality in how victim/survivors are supported can help to remove the barriers many women experiencing VAWG in Camden face. The report also identified recommendations for support services based on insights from women with lived experience. These recommendations include:
Ensuring victim/survivors of DVA have clear information about how to report DVA including the process to report and the steps involved
Camden Council to promote specialist community-specific services
Funding a commissioned legal service to offer universal free legal advice to DVA victim/survivors
Ensure child survivors of DVA can access dedicated, specialist support to support their recovery
Camden Council to support the voluntary sector to provide support for victim/survivors of DVA
Police to promote Camden Safety Net for victims/survivors involved in the criminal justice system
Improve police understanding of VAWG and support culture change within the workforce
NICE published their DVA guidance in 2014.[93] The guidance sets out a series of recommendations for multi-agency working, led by local authorities, to address DVA. The guidance sets out multiple recommendations for the services that should be provided as well as the training and professional development required.
Perpetrator-focused interventions
When considering how to prevent and reduce VAWG, it is essential to ensure action plans and interventions also seek to prevent perpetrators from victimising others again. However, there is limited evidence for how to successfully implement perpetrator programmes.
A report created by Durham University and London Metropolitan University researchers conducted four case studies of DVA perpetrator programmes for effectiveness in reducing VAWG.[96] Overall, their quantitative and qualitative data showed positive changes for the majority of programme participants, with a notable shift in their understanding of violence and abuse including controlling behaviour. In their study, they found that physical and sexual violence ended for the majority of women participating, however, everyday abuse and harassment was harder to stop.
Through their case studies and interviews they found that men who are in existing relationships tend to be more engaged with the programmes compared to those men who have had a period of separation and limited / no communication with previous partners and children. The study also found that the women in the partnerships within the programme also gained confidence to set boundaries and reclaim control.
Their assessment of these programmes found that men who participated experience a series of moments where they better understand their actions and how they can embody and utilise a number of simple methods to interrupt patterns of abuse and violence, rather than a single lightbulb moment. For example, several of the men who were interviewed found the use of positive self-talk practice enabled a number of them to recognise and admit when they had wound themselves up rather than being wound up by a woman, and therefore they could control their emotions and prevent this escalation or de-escalate if necessary.
The researchers state that group work sessions are useful in promoting change due to peers holding each other to account and providing challenge, seeing themselves through others, and providing a space to explore topics such as ‘ways of being a man’. Participants also reported that one-on-one discussions about their behaviour can be helpful to prepare for these sessions, and the repetitive nature of the sessions was necessary to embed changes. Significant length and depth of the programmes is needed to lead to deeper behavioural changes, rather than simple disruption of behaviour.
Breaking cycles / intergenerational prevention
Breaking cycles of DVA refers to interventions designed not only to support those currently affected, but also to prevent the repetition of violence across generations. By addressing the underlying patterns that place children and families at risk of perpetuating harm, these approaches aim to interrupt transmission of abuse and create pathways toward safer, healthier relationships.
Children/Family-focused interventions
While school-based interventions can support primordial prevention of VAWG, it is also important to work with the children affected by VAWG to break intergenerational cycles and avoid long-term negative consequences. As noted in the Camden Women’s Forum report[97], having dedicated support for children who have witnessed and are victim/survivors of VAWG is beneficial for enabling their recovery.
The Greater London Authority Violence Reduction Unit has funded pilot projects which have looked at children and family-focused interventions. One project showed that providing parents, whose children are at risk of experiencing violence, with the training that is usually provided to professionals resulted in parents feeling more empowered to both support their children as well as friends and family.[98] A Scottish review of evidence also found that developing parent skills and the parent-child relationship can reduce the perpetration of youth violence.[99] Another pilot project providing one-to-one trauma-informed, early intervention support for children and young people who have been impacted by DVA[100] found that participants showed positive change and improvements including in average scores for life satisfaction. The evaluation noted that it can be challenging to find locations to provide interventions outside school settings, and that boys were more likely to disengage earlier or engage less deeply with support.
The ‘For Baby’s Sake’ programme[101] is a UK-based, whole-family, trauma-informed initiative that works with both parents - starting in pregnancy and continuing until the child is two - to break cycles of DVA, improve parental mental health, and strengthen parent–infant attachment. Delivered by specialist practitioners, it addresses adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intergenerational trauma while promoting healthy relationships and nurturing environments for babies. King’s College London led an independent evaluation of the For Baby’s Sake programme to assess its development, feasibility, acceptability, and early outcomes. Early findings indicated that families valued the trauma-informed, attachment-based approach, especially the therapeutic relationships with practitioners, and that the programme effectively reached its intended audience and addressed critical gaps in existing DVA interventions.[102]
Health services
Health services play a vital role in addressing DVA and VAWG. For many victim/survivors, healthcare professionals are often the first people they encounter outside of the abusive environment, making health settings an essential gateway to safety and support.
One of the most important roles health services have is in relation to early identification. Clinicians and frontline staff are well-placed to notice patterns - such as repeated visits with unexplained injuries, chronic pain, or mental health struggles - that may indicate DVA. By providing a safe and confidential space, they can encourage disclosure, which is often a very difficult step for victim/survivors.
Beyond identification, health services are central in delivering immediate care. This includes treating physical injuries, addressing the emotional impact of abuse such as anxiety or depression, and supporting sexual and reproductive health needs, including emergency contraception or STI testing. Offering this care in a trauma-informed way helps victim/survivors feel believed, respected, and supported rather than judged or dismissed.
Health professionals also carry safeguarding responsibilities. They must be able to recognise when victim/survivors, or their children, are at ongoing risk of harm and ensure that appropriate referrals are made to social services or specialist DVA agencies. In many cases, accurate documentation of injuries and patient accounts becomes vital evidence, should victim/survivors decide to pursue legal action in the future.