PM warned he will miss target to halve violence against women without urgent investment
The Prime Minister has been warned he is on course to miss his own target of halving violence against women and girls, as vital support services are being “pushed to the brink” by funding cuts and soaring costs.
In an unprecedented joint intervention, the Victims’ Commissioner and Domestic Abuse Commissioner have written to the Prime Minister warning he is at risk of missing his flagship target to halve violence against women and girls – unless urgent investment is made in victim support services.
Baroness Newlove, Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, and Dame Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, said they were “increasingly concerned” that the government’s response to the epidemic levels of abuse is following the same “piecemeal” pattern as before.
Their letter to Sir Keir Starmer, sent ahead of next week’s Spending Review, warns that support services are being “pushed to the brink” by funding cuts and rising demand, with growing waiting lists and a lack of secure long-term funding. These pressures, they argue, are jeopardising victims’ ability to access safety and justice.
“We all want to see the vision you set out – one where violence against women is stamped out everywhere – delivered upon. But right now, this is at risk,” the Commissioners write. “Following the same path as before will not give victims the confidence that justice will be served if they report a crime to the police.”
The joint letter criticises recent proposals set out in the government’s Sentencing Review, warning they risk prioritising prison capacity over victim safety. The Commissioners argue that releasing offenders earlier, without the right safeguards in place, could “risk victims’ safety” and further erode trust in the system.
The intervention comes nearly a year after the government pledged to make streets safer and halve violence against women and girls within a decade. While acknowledging the economic pressures facing government, the Commissioners stress that “victims must not pay the price” for wider crises.
They call on the Prime Minister to use next week’s Spending Review to deliver bold, long-term investment in frontline services and to build a justice system that “delivers for survivors every single time.”
“The cost of inaction is one this country can no longer afford,” the letter concludes.