Metropolitan Police releases new action plan: ‘Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.’

Last week (Friday 15th December) The Metropolitan Police published their new VAWG action plan. This reform comes after the force was determined as “institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic" in a report by Baroness Casey earlier this year.

In light of the report, and wider police failings, The Met has created a 10-point action plan to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

Our CEO, Sema Gornall, in her advisory roles at the Metropolitan Police helped to finalise this plan. Sema’s role in these spaces is to convey the needs of affected communities and hold government agencies to account.

By actively collaborating with institutions like The Met, our aim is to affect positive change from within and improve the policing response to complex issues - such as FGM/C. We understand that charitable intervention alone is not a sustainable solution to preventing violence, so advocating for our community in government spaces is an essential aspect of our campaigning work.

Commenting on the plan’s publication, the Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Millichap, who leads on tackling VAWG, said:  

“The Met is working to make London safer for women and girls and we know our response needs to be shaped by those affected. This is how we will create confidence that we are a police service that women can trust. Our new plan is built around creating that trust and making our tactics more precise, more effective, and better resourced.

We are creating innovative tactics to better target those men who cause the most harm, and we will ensure victims are at the very heart of our service. We have made some solid progress in recent months, increasing our charges for rape by 41% when compared to last year.  But it’s not enough and we are committed to bringing even more perpetrators to justice before they can harm again. Our plan will deliver over 500 extra officers and staff dedicated to swiftly identifying offenders, supporting victims, and making women and girls safer.” 

Our CEO who acted as an advisor on this plan said:

“As an anti-Gender Based Violence organisation, I am proud of our involvement in the Metropolitan Police's latest VAWG Action Plan. I believe that building in the lived experiences of the women and girls we support across London was vital to helping the force identify their key commitments.”

Read the full plan on the Metropolitan Police’s website.