On December 15, 2025, the United Kingdom government unveiled what it calls the largest crackdown in British history on violence against women and girls, a move that has drawn widespread national attention and sparked debate about both its ambition and practical implementation. The announcement, which includes over £1 billion in new investment, aims to help domestic abuse victims access vital support, rebuild their lives, and, ultimately, halve violence against women and girls within the next decade.
The scale of the new funding is striking. According to The Times, the government will inject an extra £19 million under the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Duty, bringing the total to nearly £500 million over three years for local authorities to provide safe accommodation. This is expected to benefit almost 140,000 people, including women and children fleeing abuse. The new funding is layered atop £480 million already pledged for domestic abuse support, including refuges and Sanctuary Schemes, and more than half a billion pounds for services that help victims and witnesses navigate the justice process.
Justice Minister Alex Davies Jones, speaking on December 15 across multiple media outlets, emphasized the government’s commitment to this cause. Homelessness Minister Alison McGovern echoed this resolve, stating, “No one should have to choose between staying in an unsafe home or facing homelessness. We’re treating violence against women and girls as a national emergency, with a clear commitment to halve it in the next decade. This funding will help local authorities provide safe accommodation and tailored support, including refuges and Sanctuary Schemes, so every survivor can access safety, stability and a fresh start.”
The government’s approach is multifaceted. Local authorities will be empowered to offer not just access to housing in refuges or confidential locations but also practical security upgrades—think lock changes, window locks, and alarms—for those who choose to remain in their own homes. This expansion of Sanctuary Schemes is designed to transform victims’ homes into safe spaces, combining physical security with specialist support to help families recover and move on.
Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, stressed the need for unity in tackling the issue: “With government and society united, we can achieve our mission of halving violence against women and girls within a decade. That means bearing down on abusers but also giving survivors the support and resources they desperately need to rebuild their lives. This funding will ensure victims remain safe while preventing their abusers from inflicting further unnecessary suffering.”
The strategy is not just about immediate safety. The government is also legislating to prevent councils from requiring a local connection test when victims apply for social housing, making it easier for survivors to find homes away from their abusers and closer to support networks. This is part of a broader homelessness strategy that includes a practical toolkit for councils, £55.8 million in funding for intensive support to vulnerable people, and a streamlined ringfenced grant for local government to better coordinate homelessness, rough sleeping, and domestic abuse prevention.
Statistics underline the urgency. According to the latest government figures, more than one in ten people made homeless or at risk of homelessness were fleeing domestic abuse. Research from the 2025 Rough Sleeping Questionnaire found that nearly 70% of women who slept rough last year had experienced domestic abuse since age 16—numbers that highlight the critical need for targeted intervention.
Yet, while the funding and legislative changes are substantial, some critics and opposition voices have questioned whether the measures go far enough, quickly enough. The government’s Violence Against Women and Girls (Vawg) strategy, set to be unveiled by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on December 18 after several delays, promises sweeping reforms to the criminal justice system. Among these are plans to introduce specialist rape and sexual offences investigators in every police force by 2029, addressing what Mahmood has called a “postcode lottery” in how allegations are handled.
Mahmood, who has been Home Secretary for just over 100 days, has moved rapidly on a host of issues, from immigration to policing. At a recent event hosted by Sir Tony Blair’s Institute for Global Change, she remarked, “There’s something very clarifying about a crisis,” referring to the challenges she’s faced both in the Home Office and the justice department. Her pledge for the “largest crackdown in British history” on violence against women and girls is a direct response to Labour’s election promise to halve such violence within a decade—a target some, including The Independent, have described as “plucked out of the air” and in need of more concrete metrics and timelines.
One area where the government is pushing boundaries is technology. Mahmood has spoken about using facial recognition, tagging, and geolocation as tools to deter, detect, and punish offenders, especially in enforcing new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders. These orders would require abusers to obey curfews, exclusion zones, and notification requirements. While the potential for increased safety is clear, civil liberties advocates have raised concerns about privacy and oversight, demanding strong safeguards if such technologies are to be expanded.
Other proposals expected in the upcoming strategy include stripping foreign sex offenders of refugee protections to enable faster deportations and widening the domestic violence disclosure scheme, allowing more partners to learn about offenders’ past convictions. Nearly £2 million will go toward a network of specialist officers targeting online violence against women and girls—a move that shadow home secretary Chris Philp has criticized as insufficient, arguing, “It’ll pay for less than one police officer per police force, or 30 in total, at a time when Labour have cut 1,300 police. So, I’m afraid it’s too little too late.”
Despite the criticism, the government maintains that “all of our policies within this package are fully funded,” as Mahmood told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg. She insisted, “There will be the money that we need” to underpin the raft of announcements.
Community and charity efforts have also played a part, with The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign raising nearly £600,000 last year to build new safe havens for women fleeing abuse. Still, the government’s strategy is clear: deploy the full power of the state, bear down on abusers, and support survivors at every stage, from emergency accommodation to long-term housing and justice system navigation.
As the UK embarks on this ambitious new phase in combating domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, the coming months will reveal whether the combination of record investment, legislative reform, and technological innovation can deliver on the promise of safety, stability, and a fresh start for tens of thousands across the country.
