Our first-ever woman chancellor Rachel Reeves promised no return to austerity, and a budget that delivered for women. Meanwhile, just a few months ago, the annual policing statement from the National Police Chiefs’ Council declared violence against women and girls (VAWG) an unprecedented “national emergency”. This statement revealed that VAWG related crimes recorded during 2022/23 accounted for 20% of all police recorded crime. As the CEO of Refuge, I am sadly all too aware that police data captures only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this issue, with many survivors understandably too fearful to report domestic abuse in the first place and women’s confidence in the criminal justice system at an all-time low.
Against this backdrop of what has been widely described as a VAWG “epidemic”, I’m deeply distressed that the government’s Autumn budget makes no specific commitment to new funding to tackle VAWG. The Chancellor’s announcement last week neglected to mention the safety of women and girls, with not one single reference to VAWG in Rachel Reeves’ entire speech. Not only does this call into question the Labour government’s political statements about VAWG being treated as a priority, but it also represents a total failure to address the chronic underfunding of lifesaving domestic abuse support services which have been on a cliff edge for years.
While the government’s manifesto pledge to “halve VAWG in the next decade” is an extremely welcome one, this commitment is worth absolutely nothing if it is not backed up by dedicated funding and investment in specialist VAWG services. Tragically, we know that around one in four women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, with one woman killed by a partner or ex-partner in England and Wales every five days.
