Last month, the general election saw Labour return to government after 14 years. To secure their place at Number 10, their manifesto outlined some significant pledges, promises, and new laws to identify, prevent and eradicate violence towards women. One core objective, in particular, is their commitment to halving abuse and violence against women and girls within a decade.
This is a bold mission that we fully support, but we’re intrigued to know how they will achieve it. Annaliese Dodds has been assigned as the new Minister of State for Women and Equalities in the UK, and it will be her role to ensure these promises are met, and commitments to those who have made them are held accountable.
Labour’s Commitments
There were several points in Labour’s 2024 manifesto to support their mission of halving violence against women and girls within ten years. These include:
Empowering Police Forces
- They plan to utilise every government tool available so police forces can address the root cause of abuse and violence.
- They will optimise similar tactics used by terrorists and organised crime teams to target the most prolific and harmful perpetrators of domestic violence.
- They will introduce stricter enforcement and protection for women and girls.
- They will create specialist teams in every police force to provide expert support for those reporting abusive crimes. These specialists will include domestic abuse experts in 999 control rooms, legal advocates, and specialist rape and sexual offences teams.
- They will focus on identifying early opportunities for prevention and protection against abuse and violence.
Increased Awareness
- They want to enable schools to discuss misogyny, helping students understand what it is, how to identify it, and how to address it safely.
- They plan to provide more guidance in educating young people about healthy relationships and consent. Helping them identify warning signs, how to address them, and how to safely remove themselves from potentially dangerous situations.
- They will also deliver further training to police officers and police forces, alerting officers to the signs of abuse and providing them with the tools and knowledge to deal with these crimes.
This is a valuable service that Eve already offers to businesses, individuals, and authorities. Our Training and Consultancy services involve bespoke workshops and programmes to help those who work with domestic abuse victims and survivors.
Learn more about our training services here.
Introducing New Laws
- There will be a full review of sentencing powers to ensure punishments not only fit the crime, but victims are fully protected from perpetrators.
- They are looking to introduce Stalking Protection Orders. This is significant as many women’s deaths could have been prevented if their initial report of stalking was correctly acknowledged.
- There will be a new criminal offence for spiking – a campaign pursued for many years and pushed by celebrities such as Love Island’s Sharon Gaffka.
- They plan to build on the Online Safety Act 2023 – exploring additional safety measures online and across social media platforms for women and young girls.
- People with a history of violence against women and girls will be barred from joining the police in the UK.
- Along with an automatic suspension for police officers being investigated for domestic abuse allegations and crimes.
- They pledge to introduce specialist courts at every Crown Court in England and Wales to fast-track rape crimes, ensuring perpetrators are off the streets as quickly as possible before they can attack again.
Raneem’s Law
On the 28th of February 2024, Labour proposed Raneem’s Law alongside their additional pledges to reduce abuse and violence against women and girls. Raneem’s Law is in memory of Raneem Oudeh, who was killed in 2018.
After being subjected to stalking, domestic abuse and coercive behaviour from her ex-partner for over a year, Raneem, 22, along with her mother, Khaola Saleem, 49, were killed by Raneem’s ex-partner. Despite Raneem reaching out to the police for protection, the inquest into their deaths found that failings by the police did contribute to their deaths.
Raneem’s Law intends to strengthen the rights and protection for women co-habiting with perpetrators, as well as whistleblowers trying to help others in the workplace. It will also require police forces to respond faster to instances of abuse and issue protective orders immediately, where necessary, such as Domestic Violence Protection Notices (DVPN) and Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPO). Finally, it will support the need for abuse specialists in every police force.
Looking To The Future
Although Labour’s mission is widely supported by campaigners, authorities, charities, and women, it remains heartbreaking that so much suffering has been endured to even make these promises. And that is where the problem lies; they are promises. It will not be until action is taken and adequate policies, laws and training are not only put in place but remain there to help protect women and girls from violence.
Contact EVE
Here at Eve, we have a team of fully trained individuals whom you can contact 24/7 for domestic abuse-related matters. We provide supportive solutions and safe refuge for female victims and children affected by domestic abuse.
Contact times and support available for domestic abuse-related matters:
9am – 5pm – Helpline: General enquiries, information, advice and guidance
5pm – 9am – Out of Hours Emergency Support
9am – 10pm – Silent Solutions, text or email
