New government strategy ‘doesn’t do enough to protect girls under 16’

Keir Starmer’s government has pledged the “largest crackdown” ever on violence against women and girls (VAWG). But its plan currently seems light on details. And as Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza says, she’s still:

deeply concerned that too much of this strategy will only protect girls who are 16 or over.

More action to combat violence against women

The government, de Souza insists, must ensure it’s:

listening and responding to the risks facing every girl from a young age

In particular, she wants a mandatory requirement “on child-owned devices” for:

companies to embed transformative new technology that can detect nudity on all devices owned by children, known as HarmBlockAI.

Internet Watch Foundation’s Kerry Smith agrees, urging such “safety mechanisms” to be mandatory.

The government has pledged to put £20m into teacher training, relationship education, and other measures. That’s about 58p for each of the country’s 34 million women and girls. And it seems like just a drop in the ocean as the government continues to force schools to find £400m in savings.

End Violence Against Women is currently ‘waiting to see the details‘ of the government’s new plans. But it previously called for the strategy to work on:

• Increasing and ensuring sustainable funding for specialist services.
• Ending structural injustice affecting minoritised survivors of violence.
• Protecting all survivors regardless of their immigration status.
• Stronger monitoring and accountability.
• Making all government departments commit to prevention strategies.

… and less lying

The coalition has also insisted that politicians must stop lying about VAWG causes:

The government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls.

But this cannot be done while lies about its causes are endorsed by those in positions of power.

The facts about VAWG in the UK are stark. Weaponising violence to further a racist agenda is #NotInOurName pic.twitter.com/bcetPkGc4u

— EVAW Coalition (@EVAWuk) August 20, 2025

Sexual violence has long been a problem surging from the persistence of male-led power structures. And it isn’t an issue to do with specific ethnic or religious groups. But successive governments have chosen not to implement expert recommendations or invest appropriate resources.

Instead, establishment politicians have increasingly pandered to the far right, adding fuel to its racist propaganda. And in turn, this has distracted attention away from the massive impact male violence has on minoritised women, and the fact that many fascists have abused women and girls themselves.

The police, meanwhile, have often demonstrated institutional racism and a dismissive attitude towards survivors of sexual abuse.

Any successful strategy to stop VAWG must centre the voices of women and girls. It must also challenge the racist lies that distract us from the real social issues responsible.

We sincerely hope Labour’s strategy will help to reduce VAWG. So far, however, Labour has shown more interest in pandering to the far right. So it’s likely that more campaigning will be necessary before we get the massive changes we truly need.

Featured image via the Canary