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New report reveals government failure to join up work on violence against women - government scores just 2 out of 10 overall

The End Violence Against Women Campaign on 23 November published a new report revealing that there is still a failure to ensure that women are safe and are still failing to ensure a joined up strategy. EVAW Campaign's report has awarded the Government an overall score of just two out of ten , a small improvement on last year's score of one out of ten.

Key findings of the report are:

• Across government departments work on violence against women is 'patchy' and not joined up. There is little evidence of work between government departments resulting in a failure to share vital information
  
• Many parts of government still perceive violence against women as limited to domestic violence, resulting in a failure to develop policies and provide resources for other forms of violence, including rape and sexual assault, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM)
  
• Services for victims are seriously under-funded and there is a post-code lottery facing women who need support. The sector is increasingly fragile, for example in 1984 there were 68 women-only rape crisis centres or helplines compared with 32 in England and Wales today; FGM services are facing a major funding crisis
  
• No part of government has yet begun to address seriously the prevention of violence against women, for example there is minimal work with children and young people to challenge attitudes that tolerate violence against women.

The report concludes that the failure to adopt a strategic approach across government accounts for this dismal picture. This lack of joined up policy also means that connections are not being made with other existing high-profile government strategies, including those on social exclusion, drugs and alcohol, child poverty, anti-social behaviour and teen pregnancy.

End Violence Against Women Campaign Chair, Professor Liz Kelly, said:

'Every day in the first week of November the media carried reports of different cases where women and girls had either been killed or had committed suicide as a result of male violence. This bleak picture is hardly surprising considering the Government's failure to develop a more strategic approach to ending violence against women.

'Too many obstacles stand in the way of women needing support. There are many women who are living with the legacies of abuse and cannot get help following a sexual assault because there are no services in their area. Others trying to flee threats to kill them cannot get a place in a refuge because of their immigration status. Young people are still denied a curriculum within their school that encourages respectful relationships and, at secondary level, explores the meaning of sexual consent.'

The report does acknowledge that good work is being carried out, for example in the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office. However, many departments are still failing to grasp the key issues and take action and the opportunity to join work up is being missed. In the week that a poll showed that 42% of young people know girls whose boyfriends have hit them, the score of one out of ten for the Department for Education and Skills is particularly concerning as it has a key role to play in providing information and options for young people. Yet Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) guidelines do not include violence against women and there is no systematic training for teachers on how to recognise the signs of violence.

Professor Liz Kelly added:

'Some major moves to tackle violence against women - such as reform of the sex offences law and funding the Poppy Project for trafficked women - have been key Government achievements.

'But fundamentally the approach remains one of mopping up the problem once it has occurred, rather than working to ensure that women no longer experience violence. How many more women need to die before we see a more strategic approach?'

The End Violence Against Women Campaign will continue to make an annual assessment of the Government's work to end all forms of violence against women, and hopes to see a radical improvement across the board in time for next year's report.

 'Taken from Amnesty International Website'

 Click on the Amnesty International Contact right to download full report.