News

Government consultation on tackling sexual violence

The UK Government is carrying out a research process to develop its policy on sexual violence, domestic violence and other crimes. We at MSP want to grab this opportunity to encourage people and organisations to share their evidence and concerns with the Government, and we will be making our own submission, which we’d love to be influenced by survivors, services and researchers.

In Government this work falls within the term Violence Against Women and Girls, which presents us with a problem of understanding where men and boys fit in the government’s thinking.

Today (21st January) we have had the statement below from the Home Office which explains that evidence from male victims and survivors, and from others about issues for men and boys, will contribute to the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy but also an updated Male Victims Position Statement and future policy ambitions across government.

We remain concerned that the Violence Against Women and Girls approach presents problems for those of us who have important evidence to share from the point of view of male victims and survivors and also for ensuring an equitable approach to analysis of these crimes and harms to individuals and communities. Nevertheless this is a great opportunity to influence the government’s agenda in a way that improves support and understanding for men and boys and we would love our community and stakeholders to take part.

Here is today’s Government statement, including a link to more information:

Dear All,

As you are aware, we recently launched the Call for Evidence to help develop our next Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, due to be published this Spring. The Call for Evidence is the first of its kind in gathering information and views to inform the strategy from across the public, people who have been directly affected by these crimes, their friends, family and colleagues, as well as those who work for organisations that provide support to victims and survivors such as frontline professionals and policy experts working in social care, education, law enforcement, local government, public health and healthcare.

I know my team have been in touch with some of you to discuss the various components of the Call for Evidence, and the ways we want to hear from you. Thank you for providing feedback on our approach, I know we have taken some steps to address some of the points you have raised, and I wanted to write to confirm our commitment to male victims and survivors.

As you know, in 2019 we published a Male Victims Position Statement to recognise the needs of male victims and to clarify and strengthen our response which built upon the victim service commissioning for men and boys affected by sexual abuse. To be clear, we continue to recognise that men and boys can too of course be victims of these abhorrent crimes, and contributions to the Call for Evidence will feed in to the development of both the new Tackling VAWG Strategy and an updated Male Victims Position Statement, as well as shape policy ambitions for the future across government. I therefore am really keen for you to engage with it and use this opportunity to ensure we capture your valuable expertise and the experience of the male victims and survivors you support.    

More information on the Call for Evidence, which closes on 19 February, can be found here. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

Best wishes,

Lynne Abrams
Interpersonal Abuse Unit
Deputy Director, Crime Policing and Fire Group, Home Office

We aim to share a draft submission to the call for evidence by January 28th, inviting others to share views and add their name to our letter. We will submit the final letter to the Home Office by February 19th.

If you would like to share your point of view now please email hello@malesurvivor.co.uk, ideally mention the ‘Violence Against Women and Girls’ consultation in the subject line.