Policy brief: violence against women
Executive Summary
This policy brief will discuss the rising and significant issue of the violence against women
and provide three convincing policy recommendations to tackle this epidemic. Violence
against women is a growing issue that affects women of all ages and backgrounds which
prevents the prosperity of women. This in turn provides potentially dangerous environments
for women to be subject to fatal ramifications. This policy brief will highlight the impact the
government can have to avoid violence against women and create a safer society.
The policy brief will address various issues surrounding violence against women including
domestic violence, cyber violence and femicide. It will explore different solutions through
mandatory training programmes for students and key institutions such as the police and
National Health Service, and potential criminalisation to address the foundational issues of
violence against women. Through successful case studies and cost-benefit analysis of the
proposed solution, this brief will provide an all-rounded understanding of the issue and why
the solution would be suitable to overcome the specific issues but also reduce the overall
problem of violence against women. Overall, this brief will outline its recommendation
through the consideration of the current climate of the economy, the effectiveness of the
solution and the response from civilians.
,Introduction
The violence against women has been an ongoing problem which covers ‘any act of
gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or
psychological harm’ (ONS, 2022). With victims of sexual assault rising by 13 per cent
(Gilder and Clarke, 2021) action must be taken to ensure the safety of women and the next
generation of women. The violence against womens stems from a gender inequality gap and
is an act of sexism to harm someone based on their gender, therefore, solving the violence
against women does not only require focus on the crime itself but more so from the root of
the problem to create long term solutions for long term benefits.
Social media is a new element to consider when tackling the violence against women
especially for young women. With 76.5 percent of UKs social media uses ranging from 18 to
34-years old (talkwalker.com, 2022) and the largest gaps in research on the violence against
women on those under 18 (ONS, 2022), creating new policy on the surrounding issues will
fill those gaps to create a greater understanding of how to help young women.
Evaluation of Alternative 1
Context:
Domestic violence has been rising in the UK. In 2022 there were 2.3 million victims of
domestic abuse in England and Wales and 1.6 million were women (ONS, 2022).
, Figure 1 (ONS, 2021)
Figure 1 shows that in January 2018 the police received approximately 50,000 reports of
domestic abuse, and in 2021 this increased to a maximum of 80,000 reports. This large
increase accounts only for reports in England and Wales.
The COVID-19 pandemic worsened domestic violence (ONS, 2022). It meant that victims
were unable to leave their houses and were left in unsafe environments with the number of
calls to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline increasing by 65 per cent (UK Research and
Innovation, 2022).
Proposed solution:
The recommended solution to the growing domestic violence cases is a mandatory education
scheme for post-16-year-olds. This would include a syllabus of:
● Healthy relationships
Executive Summary
This policy brief will discuss the rising and significant issue of the violence against women
and provide three convincing policy recommendations to tackle this epidemic. Violence
against women is a growing issue that affects women of all ages and backgrounds which
prevents the prosperity of women. This in turn provides potentially dangerous environments
for women to be subject to fatal ramifications. This policy brief will highlight the impact the
government can have to avoid violence against women and create a safer society.
The policy brief will address various issues surrounding violence against women including
domestic violence, cyber violence and femicide. It will explore different solutions through
mandatory training programmes for students and key institutions such as the police and
National Health Service, and potential criminalisation to address the foundational issues of
violence against women. Through successful case studies and cost-benefit analysis of the
proposed solution, this brief will provide an all-rounded understanding of the issue and why
the solution would be suitable to overcome the specific issues but also reduce the overall
problem of violence against women. Overall, this brief will outline its recommendation
through the consideration of the current climate of the economy, the effectiveness of the
solution and the response from civilians.
,Introduction
The violence against women has been an ongoing problem which covers ‘any act of
gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or
psychological harm’ (ONS, 2022). With victims of sexual assault rising by 13 per cent
(Gilder and Clarke, 2021) action must be taken to ensure the safety of women and the next
generation of women. The violence against womens stems from a gender inequality gap and
is an act of sexism to harm someone based on their gender, therefore, solving the violence
against women does not only require focus on the crime itself but more so from the root of
the problem to create long term solutions for long term benefits.
Social media is a new element to consider when tackling the violence against women
especially for young women. With 76.5 percent of UKs social media uses ranging from 18 to
34-years old (talkwalker.com, 2022) and the largest gaps in research on the violence against
women on those under 18 (ONS, 2022), creating new policy on the surrounding issues will
fill those gaps to create a greater understanding of how to help young women.
Evaluation of Alternative 1
Context:
Domestic violence has been rising in the UK. In 2022 there were 2.3 million victims of
domestic abuse in England and Wales and 1.6 million were women (ONS, 2022).
, Figure 1 (ONS, 2021)
Figure 1 shows that in January 2018 the police received approximately 50,000 reports of
domestic abuse, and in 2021 this increased to a maximum of 80,000 reports. This large
increase accounts only for reports in England and Wales.
The COVID-19 pandemic worsened domestic violence (ONS, 2022). It meant that victims
were unable to leave their houses and were left in unsafe environments with the number of
calls to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline increasing by 65 per cent (UK Research and
Innovation, 2022).
Proposed solution:
The recommended solution to the growing domestic violence cases is a mandatory education
scheme for post-16-year-olds. This would include a syllabus of:
● Healthy relationships
