What is Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG)?
VAWG includes crime and incidents of violence and abuse that disproportionately affect women and girls. It encompasses but is not limited to:

  • Domestic abuse including controlling or coercive behaviour
  • Rape and other sexual offences, including child sexual abuse
  • Stalking and harassment
  • So called ‘honour’ based abuse
  • Forced marriage
  • Female genital mutilation
  • Modern slavery and human trafficking, focusing on sexual exploitation
  • Pornography offences for example revenge porn and up-skirting

VAWG Strategy

The strategy is broken down into 4 priorities:

  1. Prioritising prevention
  2. Supporting victim-survivors
  3. Action against perpetrators
  4. Creating stronger systems to address VAWG

You can view and download the strategy here.

Domestic Abuse Training

The document below sets out the domestic abuse training that is available across Northumbria. It includes examples of some of the training available from national providers. It includes training that is aimed at workplaces; front-line professionals; specific groups (e.g. those working with children); and communities.

It also includes a section on other free training and development resources that are available on-line.

Domestic Abuse Training Prospectus 2024-25

About VAWG

VAWG is rooted in the inequality of women and girls and is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against women and girls – in the year ending March 2020 alone, there were an estimated 618,000 female victims (aged 16-74) and 155,000 male victims of sexual assault (including attempts). 98.3% of perpetrators were male.

However, men and boys can also be victims of violence and abuse, and women can perpetrate abuse. While the term ‘violence against women and girls’ is used, this refers to all victims of any of these offences. I am committed to tackling VAWG crimes in any form and ensuring support for all victims, regardless of sex or gender.

 

Responding safely to migrant survivors of violence and abuse

Migrant survivors have rights and entitlements, despite what their perpetrators may tell them. There are specialist services locally and nationally who can help; and there are things statutory services can and should do to respond in the safest way to survivors who are subject to immigration control who may, or may not, have recourse to public funds. Helping them access specialist support as early as possible is key. Migrant survivors must be treated as victims first and foremost. Everyone should have their human rights upheld and protected, regardless of their immigration status.

If you’re a frontline worker, you’ll find more information in the Northumbria multi-agency guidance and toolkit on how to safely respond, and also details for help and support services.

Read the 7-minute briefings on the guidance and the toolkit here: