VAWG Strategy
Barnet Council is to mark International Women’s Day (Tuesday 8 March) with the launch of its new Domestic Abuse (DA) and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy.
The council’s three-year DA and VAWG strategy takes a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and violence against women and girls in Barnet. It builds on the council’s first VAWG strategy, which was initiated in 2017.
The strategy outlines how perpetrators of violence and abuse will be held to account and how victims and survivors can access the support and help they need.
The strategy also sets out how the council will work with partner organisations to raise awareness and prevent violence and abuse in the home, places of learning, employment, and in the community.
Tina McElligott, Chair of Barnet’s VAWG Delivery Group and the council’s Director of Early Help & Children’s Social Care Services, who has led on the overall vision and development of the DA and VAWG 2022-2025 strategy, said: “Since we launched our first VAWG strategy in 2017, our partnership has made great progress against our aims by working to ensure victims and survivors are able to escape abuse and be safe, facilitating access to services that build resilience, reducing the risk of families reaching crisis point and reducing the impact on children.
“This updated strategy has been written in collaboration with survivors to ensure their experiences are central to our partnership approach and renews our commitment to tackling domestic abuse and violence against women and girls in Barnet, by ensuring the protections set out within the landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 are implemented.”
Cllr Jennifer Grocock, Chairman of the Safer Community Partnership board, said: “While Barnet currently has the third lowest rate of domestic abuse reports among all London boroughs, we will continue to work tirelessly to make Barnet a safe home for every woman and girl who lives, works and studies here. Violence simply has no place in our community.
“The DA and VAWG strategy sets out how the council is working with local organisations and the NW BCU Police to prevent violence against women, supporting those affected, and making our streets safe for all women and girls. The council’s steps aim at changing attitudes and behaviour that foster violence against women and girls, improving the environment to make it safer for women and girls, and by intervening earlier.”
As part of the strategy, Barnet has developed five shared partnership objectives to work towards achieving the aim of ending DA and VAWG:
- Early intervention and prevention of DA and VAWG
- Support all victims and survivors to report, access help and recover
- Pursue perpetrators and engage them in behaviour change interventions to eliminate harm to victims and their families
- Strengthen the partnership response to improve multiagency working and information sharing to deliver improved outcomes
- Working together for safer streets, community and public spaces
Hendon Town Hall will be lit purple – the symbolic colour of International Women’s Day - on the night of 8 March to highlight the action being taken to tackle violence against women and girls.
For more information, visit: www.barnet.gov.uk/domesticabuse