‘Help us stop hidden crimes against women and girls’

As a government we have made real progress in tackling those crimes that disproportionately affect women and girls. We have provided greater legal protections to victims of stalking, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM); invested more than £100m in tackling violence against women and girls; and soon our landmark domestic abuse bill will become law, strengthening our response to tackling offending and going even further to keep victims and survivors protected.

We want to do much more, however, and the home secretary and I are determined in our mission to keep vulnerable people safe and ensure that perpetrators are punished.

That’s why last month we launched a nationwide call for evidence which asks the public for their views and experiences of violence against women and girls. These crimes touch every region and every community in the UK. And while violence against women and girls is already underreported, we know under-represented communities can face additional hurdles to seeking help. It may come from control exercised by family members, fear of rejection from your community, or language barriers with those who can help. But we’re clear that crimes which disproportionately affect some Asian communities, such as forced marriage, are not sanctioned by any major religion, and that culture is never a justification – it is against the law and perpetrators will not get away with it.

We want to do everything we can to make support services accessible to people of all backgrounds. In recent months, we boosted funding to charities including Vavengers and Karma Nirvana to address the challenges faced by victims of “honour”-based abuse during the pandemic, and we continue to provide funding to its helpline. Information from our domestic abuse campaign #YouAreNot Alone has been translated into 16 languages and we worked with a specialist agency to reach diverse communities to ensure they knew exactly how to get advice and support.

We are not complacent, and we know that our new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, due in the spring, needs to address the concerns of victims from every race, every age, and every part of this country.

We also want our new strategy to respond to newer forms of crimes against women and girls, such as cyber flashing and revenge porn.

Our new strategy will put victims and survivors at its heart, which is exactly why we want to hear from those directly affected by crimes from every background.

While these crimes largely affect females, we know that men and boys can also be affected. Our call for evidence is an opportunity for you to share your views and experiences on what you regard as abuse against women and girls.

Your responses will help shape the further actions we need to take to reduce this harm to society. Our independent advisor, Nimco Ali OBE, a courageous campaigner and survivor of FGM, is helping us lead the charge to reach as many people as possible so they can have their voices heard.

There is much more we want to do to improve victims’ experiences and ensure the punishment fits the crime. That is why I am urging readers to share your views and experiences and help us to stop these crimes for all of our sakes.

The call for evidence is open until February 19. Go to www.gov.uk/ government/ consultations/violence-againstwomen-and-girls-vawgcall-for-evidence for more information.