The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, published a statement on Wednesday calling for the UK government to take “urgent action” to end all forms of violence against women and girls. The UK government invited Alsalem to visit the country after labeling violence against women and girls a “national threat” in June 2023.
The preliminary report weighed the UK’s approach to violence against women and girls against its international and human rights obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the “Istanbul Convention”—officially called the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. Broadly, the preliminary report found that the UK has not yet fulfilled these obligations and “more must be done to ensure that the UK rises to its potential.”
According to Alsalem, “The UK could do more to translate its political recognition of the scale of violence against women and girls into action.” She recommended that the government bring together all the separate attempts to combat this issue into one framework to facilitate coordination. This includes: addressing the “chronic underfunding” and the severe backlog of the criminal justice system; an immediate “upwards shift in the prioritisation of [violence against women and girls] offences in policing” as recommended in a 2021 report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services; increased funding to non-governmental organizations working on gender equality and violence; and reform to the accommodation of housing asylum seekers.
The preliminary report also evaluated the UK’s approaches to specific crimes commonly committed against women and girls. This section covered a number of topics, including domestic abuse. The preliminary report found that investigation must be timely and efficient, prosecution ensured and sanctions appropriate, alongside adequate support for victims. It also covered coercive control, finding that it needs to be better understood in the UK. This section also touched upon stalking, technology-facilitated violence, and rape (noting Operation Soteria and the new National Operating model as potential advances). The preliminary report also stated that trafficking and slavery within the UK needed more attention and advocated for the repeal of the recently adopted Illegal Migration Act which could have devastating impacts on asylum-seeking women and girls. Prostitution and surrogacy were also discussed, with a push towards the adoption of the Nordic model, and the similar Northern Irish approach with regards to addressing prostitution.
Alsalem highlighted that the UK has “long been considered a stalwart supporter of gender equality.” She further emphasized, “Many countries will look to the UK for inspiration, as well as examples of innovation and good practice on how to make life safer for women and girls, and accountability for crimes committed against them.”
As noted by Alsalem, a woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK. Additional statistics show that domestic abuse accounts for around 14 percent of all recorded crime in England and Wales. There were 195,315 sexual offenses recorded by the police in the year ending March 2023, including 68,949 rape offenses. The vast majority (about 85 percent for each) of the victims of these crimes identify as women or girls. One in thirty women in the UK are raped or sexually assaulted each year, and one in four will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime.
Asalem’s comprehensive report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2025.
