IWD: Why I Have Hope 

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most persistent injustices in our society. It is unacceptable that, despite years of strategies, commitments and initiatives, too many women and girls still live with fear, control, and abuse.  

When the first cross‑government VAWG strategy was published in 2010, it set out priorities that have remained broadly consistent ever since: prevention, support, and pursuing perpetrators. Yet the rate of offences has barely shifted. The criminal justice system still too often harms more than it helps. And specialist support services continue to struggle to meet rising demand. 

So it would be entirely reasonable to look at another strategy, the Government’s Freedom from Violence and Abuse plan, and ask: “Another strategy? So what?” 

Why this moment is different 

I understand people’s frustrations, but I have hope, and that hope comes from how this strategy was built. 

This was not written in isolation by policymakers. It was shaped with livedexperience experts, frontline practitioners, specialist organisations, academics, commissioners and advocates in the room together. And these are formidable women. Anyone who knows them will know the strength, belief and determination they bring. 

There were CEOs of charities who keep their organisations running through sheer force of will, often campaigning on subjects many would prefer not to look at. There were political leaders who have had to match our male counterparts achievements but “backwards and in heels”. It was a room full of expertise, grit and absolute refusal to accept the status quo. 

For me this was an opportunity to draw on what the women and girls of Avon and Somerset they tell me every day and what I see as the commissioner of specialist support services and as the national APCC lead for victims and prevention. 

That breadth of experience mattered. It meant the conversations were honest about what is not working, pragmatic about what must change, and ambitious about what the whole system can do differently. 

A genuinely whole‑system approach 

What sets this strategy apart is the shift from isolated actions to a genuinely whole‑system approach. It recognises that VAWG is not a “women’s issue”; it is an issue for everyone. 

Importantly, this means working directly with men and boys, supporting them to understand healthy relationships, challenge misogyny, and play an active role in ending violence. Lasting change will only come when the responsibility for preventing harm is shared by all of us. 

Being honest about the current reality 

For all the ambition, we must be clear‑eyed about the scale of the challenge. Demand is rising. Trust in policing remains too low. Court delays continue to retraumatise victims. And support services, especially those working with the most marginalised women, remain under intense pressure. 

But this strategy acknowledges those problems openly, and it commits to tackling them with long‑term, practical action: stronger perpetrator management, improved police training and oversight, whole‑school approaches to relationships education, and sustained investment in specialist services. It is a step towards a more coherent and accountable system. 

International Women’s Day: a moment for determination and hope 

On this International Women’s Day, I am thinking of the women and girls whose courage and honesty shaped this work.  

I am grateful to every survivor who shared their experience, every practitioner who shows up day after day, and every organisation fighting to ensure women and girls can live safely and freely. 

We have more to do. But for the first time in a long time, I believe that this strategy gives us a real opportunity to make meaningful, lasting change. 

And I will continue to press for that change locally and nationally, until every woman and girl in Avon and Somerset, and across the country, can live a life free from violence and abuse.