Violence

Violence Against Women & Girls

Are we asking the right questions?

Violence against women and girls is rightly receiving serious attention. But effective prevention depends on asking more precise questions.

Who is being harmed? Who is committing the violence? At what ages? In what relationships? And are prevention efforts reaching the people and situations where they can make the greatest difference?

Who is committing the violence?

VAWG covers many different behaviours, including domestic abuse, rape, sexual assault, stalking and harassment. There is no single perpetrator profile across all of them.

However, the evidence on rape and assault by penetration is particularly clear: perpetrators are overwhelmingly male, and a large proportion are adult men rather than teenage boys.

That matters because prevention cannot focus only on educating children and young people. Early education is important, but intervention must also reach adult perpetrators and abusive relationships.

Where is the risk?

Women's safety is often discussed in terms of strangers and public spaces.

But serious sexual violence is frequently committed by someone the victim already knows — including partners and former partners.

That means prevention cannot simply tell women how to stay safe. It also needs to identify abusive behaviour earlier, improve responses to victims and intervene with those causing harm.

What about boys and young men?

Boys and young men should learn about consent, healthy relationships, boundaries and respect.

But challenging male violence should not mean treating every boy as a potential perpetrator.

Young people are also experiencing significant levels of domestic abuse and sexual victimisation themselves.

The challenge is therefore twofold: challenge harmful behaviour early while also supporting young people who may themselves be experiencing violence, abuse or pressure.

OUR ANSWER

We need to move beyond broad messages and focus prevention where the evidence shows the risk actually exists.

That means educating young people, intervening with adult perpetrators, recognising abuse within relationships and supporting victims before violence escalates.

The aim should not be to make women more frightened or boys feel blamed simply for being male.

It should be to identify harmful behaviour, challenge it earlier and direct resources towards the people and situations where they can make the greatest difference.

The figures

98%

of victims of rape or assault by penetration identified the perpetrator as male.

20–39

Almost two-thirds identified a male perpetrator within this age range.

43.2%

identified a partner or former partner as the perpetrator.

18.2%

of 16–19-year-olds experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2025.

These figures relate to different offences and populations and should not be directly compared.

Sources: ONS, Crime Survey for England and Wales, year ending March 2025.