In Autumn 2024, we caught up with Maggie Blyth, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). A report published last July by the National Police Chiefs Council and the College of Policing estimated at least one in 12 women in England and Wales would be a victim of violence every year – or about two million women.
In the interview we discussed growing concerns around relationship abuse, online threat and harm, misogyny and ways in which we can work together to prevent this.
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Deirdre: I wanted to have a conversation with you about some of these findings in the Violence Against Women and Girls report that’s come out this year. One of the headlines in your report is the really shocking statistic that from 2018 to 2022, violence against women and girls related crime increased by 37% and many of the stats that are in your report are very much reflected in a poll that LMK did earlier this year with 2,000 young people – where we found that seven in ten young people have been victims of relationship abuse.
What do you think the key factors are behind this rise?
Maggie: From a policing perspective we wanted to set out the extent and level of what we think is an epidemic of these sorts of crimes that vary from domestic abuse, rape, serious sexual offending, child abuse, stalking, harassment, these crimes are being so extensive in our communities, in our society, and they are increasing. We’ve seen the increase largely because of online threats and harm. And that’s for all of us.
We spend all of our lives so much more online, particularly since the pandemic. But inevitably, over the last decade, as more and more of us in all of our daily lives live our lives on our phones and online. And that brings with it access to material, to information, to individuals who have a much more sinister approach to targeting women, targeting girls and boys, and targeting individuals in a more horrible way.
Deirdre: In this report you say that we need a coherent and robust whole system approach to preventing violence against women and girls from happening in the first place. Education is such an important part of reducing this, don’t you think? And I just wondered if you could talk a bit about how you feel the different strands of society, so police, schools, charities like LMK, government, can work together effectively to ensure a meaningful approach to tackling this?
Maggie: Education is really key, as is prevention. We know that whilst those perpetrators, those largely men, not always, but largely men, who commit these types of crime, some must be arrested and some must serve prison sentences. But for some offenders, and knowing that some offenders are also under the age of 18, we know that we need to get to the cause of what’s causing this set of violence and violent approach to women, which we think is set in society as a whole in how boys and girls grow up, healthy relationships and understanding how to address and deal with any form of abuse or harassment from an early age.
So prevention and education is key. And our advice to the government, and we’ve outlined this in our report, is that much stronger work in schools about what is relationship abuse, what is domestic abuse, what does it mean, what should boys and girls expect in relationships growing up, and being able to talk about what might be happening at home. We know so much is happening behind closed doors.
We want victims and survivors to come forward and feel confident to report, seek help. And whilst reporting to the police, we think, is important, there’s a range of organisations and other parts of the system, health and social care, where there may be better support packages than the police can offer.
Deirdre: How do you think that we could support young people earlier to recognise, and not just treat it when something happens, but actually be able to support people to recognise that behaviour earlier so that we have a greater opportunity to prevent relationship abuse from happening?
Maggie: Policing is really clear on this, and I am, that we mustn’t normalise what is misogynistic behaviour, what is violent and harmful behaviour and imagery. Social media has huge advantages, but it also is hugely influential over young people gaining access through the algorithms in the platforms.
Deirdre: I’m interested to know what new challenges you’re coming across, either online or offline, that are emerging in this space around violence against women and girls or relationship abuse.
Maggie: The volume of domestic abuse remains a concern. Every three days a woman dies at the hands of a man, so we must not underestimate what happens behind closed doors. And the online world makes that even worse.
I think what we’re also seeing is violence and imagery and violent pornography that’s viewed online is normalising some behaviour in relationships at a much younger age, and it’s the numbers of young people under the age of 18 that are harmed, abused and engaging in violent behaviour that is of concern and different than what we’ve seen before, something can be done.
If you are a girl or a woman out there, or a boy, or a man facing abuse or harm, or worried about your own behaviour, I would urge anyone to seek support and help. And reporting to the police, but seeking help from those agencies that provide it is so important.
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If you think you or someone you care about may be in an abusive relationship or at risk of harm in any way, here are some organisations that can provide you with urgent help, support and advice. If you are in immediate danger, please call 999.