The government has launched its strategy to tackle what it calls the "national emergency" of violence against women and girls (VAWG), but the plan's core data reveals a complex picture. Almost two in five victims counted under the official VAWG definition are adult men, while girls under the age of 16 are not tracked at all.
A New Measure and Its Contradictions
Eighteen months into its term, the government has defined a new measure for VAWG through its Freedom From Violence and Abuse strategy, developed with the Office for National Statistics. It encompasses crimes like domestic abuse, stalking, rape, sexual offences, harassment, and so-called 'honour'-based abuse.
Official figures show these crimes affected an estimated 5.1 million victims in the year ending March 2025. However, of that total, approximately two million victims were men. The Police Foundation described this high proportion as "counter-intuitive," but noted excluding male survivors of sexual crimes would have been controversial.
James McKinnon of Survivors UK said while prioritising women and girls is right, folding male victims into VAWG risks making their support "an afterthought." This, he warned, perpetuates a cycle where men are less likely to report or even recognise abuse.
Missing Girls and Funding Questions
A significant criticism is the omission of under-16s from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), the data source for the strategy. This means the government cannot measure its success in protecting "girls," a key part of its pledge.
Ruth Halkon of the Police Foundation called this "a glaring omission," suggesting that while gathering data on girls would be expensive, it is possible and necessary.
Further scrutiny falls on the funding. Niki Scordi, Chair of the Woman's Trust, welcomed the cross-departmental approach but said the plans "lack both ambition and investment." She clarified that several announced funds, like the £500m for domestic abuse victim housing, are not new but have been in place since 2022. Similarly, a £2m specialist police unit replaces a disbanded team with a narrower remit.
What the Crime Trends Show
The CSEW data, based on 34,000 households, is considered a reliable indicator as it captures unreported crime. It shows the rate of sexual assault has remained largely static over two decades, with 2.36% of over-16s affected in 2024/25.
Last year, 3.6% of women and 0.6% of men experienced unwanted sexual touching, while rape or attempted rape affected 0.4% of women and 0.1% of men.
Domestic abuse figures showed a slight annual decrease, from 8.0% to 7.8% of over-15s. The most common form was emotional abuse by a partner, impacting 4.8% of women and 3.2% of men.
While the strategy pledges preventative measures like training teachers to spot misogyny in boys, experts stress that tackling issues like court backlogs and online safeguarding is crucial for real progress. The government now faces the challenge of turning a broad, data-driven strategy into targeted, well-funded action for all victims.
