Policy paper: Freedom from Violence and Abuse, Home Office
What are the main points?
- The next generation of girls will be better protected from violence, and young boys steered away from harmful misogynistic influences, the government has promised.
- Its VAWG strategy will focus on prevention and tackling the root causes of abuse, ‘deploying the full power of the state’ to halve VAWG in a decade.
- As part of the £20m package, the government stated that teachers and families will be empowered to address harmful attitudes and behaviours head on, including with specialist teacher training.
- A new helpline will be launched for young people concerned about their behaviours, while it’s planned that schools will
- send high-risk individuals to get extra care and support.
- Police and social services will be given tools to intervene in harmful relationships, as the government highlights nearly 40% of teenagers in relationships are a victim of relationship abuse.
EXPERT THOUGHT Nour Norris OBE, lead campaigner, said: ‘It is the first time we have seen a government bring together all these
critical areas of failure and act on them within such a short period. That acknowledgment matters, and so does the
willingness to reform.’
Image | ISTOCK
