Force response to publication of national violence against women and girls report

Today (Tuesday) the National Police Chiefs’ Council has published a national report on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

Across Warwickshire, our vision is to reduce violence against women and girls, protect people from harm, to be great at protecting the most vulnerable and effectively disrupt and pursue offenders.

The national report outlines the scale and threat posed by the issue and addresses some of the challenges faced in trying to tackle it.

To support our local ambition to reduce violence we continue to work with partners and over the past 12 months, we’ve made a lot of progress.

This includes the force receiving White Ribbon Accreditation in November and getting a national award for our work using virtual reality videos to combat VAWG.

We also ran a campaign to raise awareness of domestic abuse over the Christmas period, which was supported by other partner agencies including Warwickshire County Council.

We remain involved in Operation Soteria - a collaborative programme bringing together police forces and academics to understand and tackle the challenges seen in rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) investigations.

This has seen us implement the College of Policing’s (CoP) National Operating Model to not only improve the quality of service we provide to victims and survivors but also to better support victims of these crimes.

In addition, we are focussing on improving standards and behaviour in the force and continue to make sure our workforce is as informed as possible by carrying out regular training sessions on a variety of themes such as the importance of using trauma-informed language.

And we will soon be launching our ‘Walk with us’ project - giving all women aged 18 or over the chance to chat with our officers about personal safety and raise any concerns as they walk around different areas of the county.

Responding to the report, Chief Superintendent Daf Goddard said: “Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is an unacceptable, preventable issue that blights the lives of many, and we have always taken it seriously in Warwickshire.

“We know we need to do more, and we are committed to doing so, however many of the underlying causes of VAWG are societal.

"Prevention plays a key role and it’s essential we work in partnership with key stakeholders to effectively tackle it - all of society needs to be engaged and committed to change.

“Ultimately, our ambition is to make Warwickshire a place where women and girls can live, work, study, socialise and travel safely and confidently, free of fear, violence, intimidation and harassment.”

Visit our website for further advice and information if you have been a victim or want to find out more about what we’re doing to tackle the issue.

Key findings from the national report:

• VAWG is at such a scale that it cannot be addressed through law enforcement alone. Evidence shows many perpetrators will be involved with several agencies outside policing – including health, education, local authority, and the voluntary sector
• More than 1 million VAWG-related crimes were recorded nationally during 2022/23, accounting for 20% of all police recorded crime
• The complexity of VAWG crimes is placing unprecedented demand on policing, and the rise in abuse committed through technology is increasing this burden
• Under Operation Soteria, more than 4,500 officers have been specially trained in investigating rape across England and Wales. There’s been a 25% increase in the number of arrests (2022/23 compared with 2019/20) and a 38% increase in charges for rape (year to December 2023 compared with the same period)
• Domestic abuse remains one of the biggest demands on policing with a 22% increase in arrests in the year ending March 2023, compared to the previous period
• Policing has undergone significant change to the way it tackles VAWG in recent years, however progress has been made to drive standards and consistency across all police forces

Issued: Laura Maltby, Corporate Communications