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Coalition failing to protect girls

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end violence against women, reportUK government only awarded 2.4 out of 10 for its work to prevent violence against women and girls.

‘Deeds or Words’, a report published by the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), analysed the government’s performance in ten key areas.

It concluded that ‘government work is at best patchy and [its] education policy is a key barrier to improving this’.

The report also found that despite concerns about sexual offending by boys and young men, there is no obligation for schools to teach young people about sexual consent and respectful relationships.

That a multi-million pound Home Office campaign aimed at preventing abuse amongst teens – ‘thisisABUSE’ – was sidelined by the Department for Education. Meaning that many schools were not aware that students may be seeking help after seeing the campaign online and on TV.

That while the government has announced a programme of work to prevent violence against women and girls overseas, there is no equivalent programme of work in the UK.

That there is little political leadership on these issues in the Department for Education or the Department for Culture Media and Sport.

That the Department for Education’s expert group on violence against women and girls has been disbanded.

That abuse of women and girls is mostly absent from policy development on press regulation, social media and technology.

The report acknowledged that the government’s strategy ‘Call to end violence against women and girls’ marked a ‘critical shift’ away from previous more reactive responses in its focus on preventing violence and challenging attitudes.

It is within this context of primary prevention that government work within the last three years has been analysed.

The government failed to score at all in priority 2: ‘ensure delivery of a whole school approach to prevent violence against women and girls across the primary and secondary education system’.

Prevention work in schools and work to address harmful behaviour was deemed to be ‘disappointing…patchy and inconsistent’ helping to create a ‘context of impunity’.

The omission of any work in schools is telling in light of a government strategy on violence against women and girls which espouses the necessity of ‘intervening early where possible to prevent it’.

There is no doubt that pressures and influences on young people are increasing.

These include the ubiquity and accessibility of pornography, the advent of ‘sexting’ and other activities around sexual behaviour, and violence and the denigration of women, often cultivated by and perpetuated through social media.

The resultant attitudinal response to violence against women and girls (VAWG) needs to be addressed, challenged and framed within an educational and social context.

And schools are perhaps uniquely placed to deliver prevention work, given that schooltime is a time when behaviours are formed, attitudes are fostered and pressures on young people increase.

A YouGov poll commissioned by EVAW and published alongside their report reflects pubic support for sex and relationships education (SRE) to be taught in schools.

The poll revealed that 86 per cent of UK adults think that SRE ‘which addresses sexual consent and respectful relationships’ should be compulsory in secondary schools.

The resistance to SRE in some corners, often framed around the argument that young people are not yet ready to learn about such issues, is belied by the statistics: 1 in 3 teenage girls has experienced sexual violence from their boyfriend and 1 in 3 16-18 year-olds had experienced ‘groping’ or other unwanted sexual touching at school.

‘Deeds or Words’ is not the first time EVAW has asserted that it is vital that SRE is taught as a preventative measure and can be seen as the second stage of an ongoing campaign which began in autumn 2012 with ‘Schools Safe 4 Girls’.

The recent cases in Rochdale and Oxford have disturbingly and starkly highlighted the extent to which young girls are at risk of violence and exploitation.

And it showed us something more than that; it showed us the extent to which these young girls were let down by those around them, those with a duty to protect.

Such a prevailing societal acceptance of VAWG, and an inability or unwillingness to view violence through the lens of gender discrimination and sexist institutional structures, are attitudes that need to be changed.

The EVAW report suggests the need for ‘sufficient ongoing training’ on VAWG for teachers and other professionals and a long term, properly invested and evidenced-based awareness campaign, along the lines of the drink driving campaign Think!

As EVAW co-chair Professor Liz Kelly said, “It is time for our government to make good on [its] promises and to ensure that violence against women and girls is no longer tolerated in our society”.

You can join the campaign.

You can, for example, write to the Prime Minister and ask him to implement a robust Programme of Work to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls.

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