Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency, launching the government's most ambitious strategy to date with the goal of halving such violence within ten years.
A Crisis in Numbers: The Scale of the Challenge
The stark reality driving the new policy is outlined in alarming statistics. In the year to March 2025, one in eight women in England and Wales was a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. Police record nearly 200 rapes every day, and on average, three women are killed by a man each week in the UK.
Lammy, writing in his capacity as both a minister and a father, expressed his personal terror at these figures for his daughter, but also emphasised the need for a fundamental shift in approach for the sake of his two sons. He argued that past governments have offered plenty of tough talk but too little action.
A Three-Pronged Strategy: Prevention, Pursuit, and Protection
The newly unveiled strategy represents what Lammy calls the largest crackdown in British history on violence against women and girls. It is built on three core pillars: stopping young men from being drawn towards harmful behaviour, stopping abusers, and supporting victims.
For perpetrators, the government promises to deploy the full force of the state, using improved data, smarter policing, and specialist teams to identify, disrupt, and relentlessly pursue the most dangerous offenders. Protection for victims will be strengthened through a national roll-out of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, allowing courts to impose curfews, electronic tags, and exclusion zones on abusers.
Confronting Toxic Culture and Starting Early
Central to the plan is a focus on prevention and challenging the cultural roots of violence. Lammy pointed to the corrosive influence of casual misogyny amplified online, where figures like Andrew Tate – viewed positively by 41% of young men – promote regressive attitudes. Studies show young men's views on consent and equality are worsening.
The strategy will make it harder for children to access harmful content, criminalise 'strangulation pornography', and hold tech companies accountable under the Online Safety Act. Crucially, it will support schools and parents to teach consent, respect, and healthy relationships confidently, challenging early stereotypes that boys shouldn't cry or show emotion.
Lammy announced a national summit on men and boys for next year, aiming to shape a new, positive story about masculinity in Britain. He stated his personal hope: for his daughter to live without fear, and for his sons to know that masculinity can be kind. The fight, he concluded, belongs to everyone.
