The government in England and Wales has announced a series of significant measures aimed at combating violence against women and girls (VAWG), including the establishment of dedicated rape and sexual offenses teams within all police forces by 2029. These plans are being unveiled by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood as she prepares to outline a long-awaited strategy on VAWG next week, alongside the introduction of new domestic abuse protection orders.

Under the new initiative, all police forces will be mandated to form specialized rape and sexual offenses teams. These units will be headed by "specialist investigators" who will undergo extensive training to better understand offender behavior and address critical issues such as "rape mythology" and "problematic cultural issues" that often lead to victims being dismissed or blamed. A component of this training will also involve preparing some officers to act as sexual violence "first responders" to ensure appropriate initial contact with victims. These plans are, in part, a direct response to Operation Soteria, a Home Office project initiated in 2021 under the previous government to tackle concerns about sexual violence investigation methods and alarmingly low charge rates, which had revealed that half of rape investigation teams were not fully qualified.

While the establishment of these specialized teams marks a crucial step, it has been noted that there will be no additional government funding for these units, requiring forces to absorb the costs from their existing budgets. Consequently, the pace at which these teams are established is expected to vary across different forces, depending on their current levels of expertise and financial capacity. Nevertheless, the teams are slated to receive support from the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection, a £13 million project launched this year with the goal of improving responses to all forms of violence against women and girls.

Further strengthening the legal framework, the government will introduce domestic abuse protection orders (DAPOs) across England and Wales. These orders, which follow a successful regional pilot scheme, will empower judges in both civil and criminal proceedings to impose various sanctions on offenders. Such sanctions could include electronic tagging and the establishment of exclusion zones, designed to protect victims. Critically, individuals who breach these orders could face imprisonment for up to five years. The pilot scheme for DAPOs commenced in November last year, initially operating in Greater Manchester and parts of London, before expanding to North Wales and Cleveland. These comprehensive orders are designed to target all forms of domestic abuse, explicitly including "economic abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour, stalking and 'honour'-based abuse," and will have no maximum time limits.

In addition to these measures, the government has committed almost £2 million to fund "crack police squads" comprising "covert online investigators." These specialized units will focus on targeting internet abusers, acknowledging the rising issue of online abuse against women, which is increasingly linked to "real-world" violence.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, "This government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency. For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life. That’s not good enough. We will halve it in a decade. Today we announce a range of measures to bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide." Halving gender-based violence within a decade has been a key manifesto pledge.

Despite these ambitious announcements, the government has faced significant criticism regarding delays in publishing the VAWG strategy and an apparent lack of engagement with experts in the sector. Karen Bradley, chair of the home affairs select committee, expressed her concerns in a letter to ministers, highlighting that the delay creates "significant uncertainty across the VAWG sector" and sends a message that tackling VAWG is not a government priority. She also noted the committee's understanding of "poor engagement and transparency with VAWG stakeholders" during the strategy's development.

For those affected by rape or sexual abuse, support and information are available from organizations such as Rape Crisis in the UK (0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland), Rainn in the US (800-656-4673), and 1800Respect in Australia (1800 737 732). Further international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.