Content warning: This article contains references to sexual assault.


The UK Government’s newly published Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy marks one of the most ambitious attempts in recent years to confront the scale and complexity of gender-based violence. The cross-government strategy commits to halving violence against women and girls within the next decade, positioning the issue not as a standalone crime problem, but as a systemic challenge rooted across society.

The timing is critical. Violence against women and girls remains widespread across the UK. One in eight women experienced domestic abuse, stalking or sexual assault in the past year, and police record around 200 rapes every day — with many more incidents going unreported. Police recorded sexual offences have increased by more than 260 per cent since 2010, underscoring both improved reporting and the scale of unmet need across the system.

For experts working at the intersection of gender-based violence, exploitation and migration, the new strategy represents a long-awaited opportunity to address these issues more holistically.

“This strategy has been a long time coming,” says Palladium’s Ludovica Picone. “The commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade is ambitious, and it’s an important step in the right direction. By recognising that violence occurs across multiple areas of society, rather than in isolation, the strategy opens the door to more coordinated, preventative and long-term responses”

Where VAWG and Modern Slavery Converge

While the strategy does not explicitly focus on modern slavery, its priorities closely align with the realities faced by survivors of trafficking. The UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has repeatedly emphasised that modern slavery is a form of gender based violence, overwhelmingly affecting women and girls. Women are the majority of victims of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced marriage and trafficking for criminal exploitation.

“Victims of modern slavery are very often trafficked women,” Picone explains. “Even though modern slavery isn’t named directly in the strategy, the overlap is clear and that violence, coercion and control sit at the heart of both.”

The strategy emphasises prevention and early intervention, with a focus on early intervention, safeguarding and system accountability. These principles closely mirror approaches long embedded in effective modern slavery programming.

“In modern slavery work, you look at a survivor’s journey and identify where systems might unintentionally cause further harm or retraumatisation,” Picone says. “That way of thinking is very transferable to VAWG responses.”

Migrant Women and the Role of Trust

One of the most significant aspects of the strategy is its commitment to improving safety and access to justice for migrant women, who often face heightened risks of abuse alongside barriers to reporting.
Under the new approach, police will be required to seek victims’ consent before sharing information with Immigration Enforcement, a move welcomed by practitioners working with trafficking survivors.

“This is hugely important,” Picone says. “Immigration status is frequently used by perpetrators as a means of control. When women fear deportation or repercussions linked to their status, it becomes much harder for them to seek help.”

Without integrated safeguards, migrant women remain among the least protected across both VAWG and modern slavery systems. The strategy’s emphasis on consent, separation of enforcement functions and survivor autonomy represents a meaningful shift toward rebuilding trust.

Online Harm, Exploitation and Prevention

The strategy also emphasises online safety, recognising the growing role of technology in enabling abuse. Commitments to tackle online misogyny, image based abuse, deepfakes and AI enabled exploitation reflect an evolving threat landscape that spans both VAWG and modern slavery.

Exploitation increasingly begins online, particularly for young women and girls. The strategy’s investment in education, early intervention and community based prevention seeks to address both the harm itself and the socioeconomic drivers behind it.

“Violence exists across all socioeconomic strata,” Picone explains. “But understanding where it’s most likely to emerge, and why, allows us to target communities and prevention efforts far more effectively.”

Sector Insight: Closing the Gaps

Jasmine O’Connor, a safeguarding and anti-exploitation specialist working closely with the Palladium team, emphasises the importance of viewing VAWG and modern slavery as part of a single continuum.

“These harms don’t sit neatly in policy boxes,” she says. “Women experiencing trafficking, coercion or online exploitation often move between VAWG, modern slavery and migration systems, and too often fall through the gaps between them.”

She adds that digital abuse is accelerating this convergence. “Online exploitation connects these agendas more than ever before. Responses to VAWG and modern slavery have to evolve together, or they risk becoming outdated very quickly.”

Why This Matters

For the Palladium team, the strategy reflects challenges seen daily across its programmes supporting refugees, trafficking survivors, women at risk and vulnerable migrants. From safeguarding design to systems reform, Palladium’s work is grounded in translating policy ambition into operational reality.

“This is a moment for leadership,” O’Connor says. “If we can align modern slavery, VAWG and migration responses, we have a real opportunity to improve protection pathways for women who are currently the most marginalised.”

As the UK begins implementing its new VAWG Strategy, success will depend on coordination, evidence and delivery. With violence against women accounting for around 20% of all police recorded crime — and women making up 86 per cent of sexual offence victims — the stakes could not be higher.

For practitioners across the sector, the message is clear: addressing violence, exploitation and inequality requires joined up systems, survivor centred design and sustained investment.