What is the VAWG Strategy?
The Governments Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy focuses on raising awareness of violence and abuse that disproportionately affects women and girls.
Types of violence and abuse include:
- Rape and Other Sexual Offenses
Non-consensual sexual acts and related offenses.
- Sexual Harassment
Unwelcome behaviour intended to make someone feel upset or humiliated. This includes:
- Sexual Comments/Gestures: Behaviour such as 'catcalling' and 'wolf-whistling', sexual propositions (verbal and non-verbal), and comments about someone’s body.
- Intrusive/Persistent Questioning: Asking personal questions even after being told not to, e.g., “Have you got a boyfriend/girlfriend?” or “Where are you going?”
- Deliberate Touching: Rubbing against someone in a crowd, such as on a busy train or bus, for sexual gratification.
- Standing Too Close: Invading personal space, e.g., someone standing or sitting unusually close to you on a bus or train when it’s not busy.
- Stalking
Persistent and intrusive behaviour that causes fear or distress, such as following someone, spying, or interfering with their property.
- Cyberflashing
Sending or showing sexual images via technology without consent, such as through AirDrop or Bluetooth.
- Upskirting
Taking photos beneath someone’s clothing without their permission.
- Flashing/Exposure
Exposing genitals in a public place.
Support pages
Stalking
A stalker will have an obsession with the person they are targeting. Stalking is an offence and should be reported to the Police.
Stalking may include:
- Regularly following someone
- Repeatedly going uninvited to their home
- Checking someone’s internet use, email or other electronic communication
- Hanging around somewhere they know the person often visits
- Interfering with their property
- Watching or spying on someone
- Identity theft (signing-up to services, buying things in someone’s name)
To help identify stalking behaviour, consider if it is F.O.U.R:
- Fixated
- Obsessive
- Unwanted
- Repeated
Stalking help & advice
- Do not engage with your stalker in any way.
- Talk to family, friends, neighbours, colleagues or your manager. They may be able to help by collecting further evidence on your behalf or by putting protective measures in place.
- Be aware of how much of your personal information is in the public domain and take steps to protect your data.
- Above everything, trust your instincts.
- Limit the amount of information you share about yourself on social networking sites and check your privacy settings.
- Report any stalking activity on websites to the administrators. If they won’t act, contact the web hosting company.
For more help and advice, visit Stalking Help and Advice.
Stalking is a serious issue that should be reported to the Police. In an emergency, call 999, or use 101 for non-emergency situations.
You can also report stalking online through the Police’s website or visit your local Police Station in person.
For advice and support, contact the National Stalking Helpline at 0808 802 0300.
Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse includes any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse. The abuse can be psychological, physical, social, financial, or emotional.
Domestic Homicide
Domestic homicide is where someone has died, or appears to have died, from violence, abuse or neglect by someone they are related to or have been in an intimate personal relationship with or were a member of the same household.
For further information visit our domestic abuse page.
Honour Based Abuse
Honour based abuse (including female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and honour killings).
Honour based abuse is a crime or incident which has, or may have been, committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and / or community.
It is a form of domestic abuse that is often perpetrated by partners, ex-partners, or family members. The concept of ‘honour’ is above the safety and wellbeing of individuals and is used to justify emotional, physical, and financial abuse, disownment, and in some cases murder.
Examples of honour-based abuse are:
- Forced marriage
- Female genital mutilation
- Physical abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Psychological pressure
- Abandonment
- Honour killing (murder)
- Forced suicide
To find out more, please visit Karma Nirvana.
Revenge porn
Image-based sexual abuse, also referred to as ‘Revenge Porn’, is the act of sharing intimate images or videos of someone, either on or offline, without their consent with the intention of causing distress and is against the law.
The perpetrator shares sexually explicit images or videos of another person without their consent, causing distress of harm.
If you’ve experienced image-based sexual abuse it’s important to remember that you’re not to blame – only the offender is responsible for this crime taking place.
Find out more on Image-based sexual abuse.
Upskirting
Upskirting is where someone takes a picture under a person’s clothing without their permission or knowledge, causing distress and harm.
Upskirting can happen to anyone and anywhere, but most commonly takes pace in crowded public places, e.g. public transport.
These crimes are deeply harmful to victims, survivors, and their loved ones, and have a huge impact on wider society.
Find out more
For further information on the VAWG Strategy and related issues, visit the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.
The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) mural on Ipswich Waterfront, part of the Safer Streets 4 project, was funded by a Home Office grant delivered between August 2022 and March 2023.