Anna’s Blog – Combatting Domestic Violence
On the 2nd December, the second part of the Angiolini Inquiry was published. The Inquiry was originally introduced in response to the murder of Sarah Everard to evaluate what existing measures, if any, were in place to prevent violent and sexually motivated crimes against women.
What the Inquiry actually found is that feeling unsafe remains the default for women, girls and marginalised individuals. Lady Elish Angiolini states: “Women change their travel plans, their routines, and their lives out of fears for their safety […] while far too many perpetrators continue to roam freely. Women deserve to feel safer. They deserve to be safer.”
Charities such as Women’s Aid and campaigns like White Ribbon Day focus on the problem stemming from systemic and cultural attitudes towards women and girls. Statistics show that perpetrators are overwhelmingly men (94.4% in 2024) and charities emphasise the importance of tackling rigid gender norms and harmful expressions of masculinity which perpetuate violence against women. Yet statistics of domestic violence continue to rise (with 816,493 cases reported in 2025) and only a tiny proportion (6.7%) ever leading to prosecution.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is attempting to make significant changes to the criminal justice system through a five-year ‘Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy’ (VAWG Strategy 2025-2030). This strategy aims to improve the quality of casework and appropriately train staff to understand the ‘wide spectrum of abuse’. A key tenet of this is to enable courts to consider the wider context to charges – rather than only being able to provide details of the single incident for which a current case is brought. As Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions at the CPS, stated “It is our responsibility to present to the court the full picture of criminality that occurs, so that courts can sentence appropriately.”
The strategy also sets out to prioritise the perspective and wellbeing of victims by using victim-focussed, trauma-informed processes and taking a ‘suspect-centric’ investigative approach that takes into account the behaviours of a suspect before, during and after an alleged offence.
It also aims to effectively evaluate cases for people who were subjected to abuse that led to untimely death or suicide. The number of suicides after domestic abuse now outstrips rates of homicide, highlighting the glaring absence of support for people who experience domestic violence trauma. However, it does not commit to making it easier to prosecute perpetrators of domestic violence that have contributed to a death or suicide. Take the recent case of Georgia Barter, who died by suicide following domestic abuse which was repeatedly reported to the police. The police blamed a lack of access to the central database as the reason why her partner has never been charged. Georgia Barter’s mother, Kay, continues to fight this injustice, calling for change that would prevent more unnecessary pain and suffering.
The implementation of the VAWG strategy is welcome, but after decades of continual domestic abuse reports being neglected by police, now more than ever the government must tackle the root causes of systemic gender-based violence. This isn’t just about the criminal justice system, this needs to be as a whole – across the UK’s education system, workplace, and family home, etc – in order to create a safer society for women. The CPS alone cannot undo life-long trauma for victims of domestic abuse and their families.
That being said, if the VAWG strategy is implemented as it is intended, then these changes are likely to make a genuine impact on people who report gender-based violence and domestic abuse. That is, allegations being taken more seriously and victims being offered more compassionate support. Yet it remains to be seen if this strategy will actively help lessen the number of violent incidents and safety concerns that women and girls feel in their day-to-day lives. In the meantime, we wait for its successes to be reflected in the reduced number of domestic violence cases brought to court and perpetrators brought to justice.
Further information:
CPS_Violence_against_women_and_girls_strategy_2030_FINAL_EXTERNAL_PUBLICATION.pdf
Support for victims and witnesses of stalking or harassment | Police.uk