News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

Suzy Lamplugh Trust Responds to Government Announcement of Funding Package to Address Domestic Abuse Perpetrators

Perpetrator interventions play a vital role in keeping victims safe from further harm. Whilst we welcome resourcing to address this area of work, the Home Office’s announcement has led to some serious concerns.

It is paramount that specialist interventions for all types of violence against women and girls (VAWG) crimes are equally resourced. Data from the National Stalking Helpline shows that around 45% of stalking victims are targeted by someone who is not an ex-intimate partner, such as a colleague, acquaintance, or stranger. DA perpetrator intervention programmes would therefore not be suitable. The application of DA-focused interventions can also reinforce stalkers’ belief they are in a relationship with the victim, thus heightening the risk. We urge the government to recognise and fund specialist stalking interventions like the Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Programme (MASIP) as best practice in managing all perpetrators of stalking. Through our work on our Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Programme, we have seen first-hand the transformative change these programmes can lead to when they are evidence-led and working in tandem with a whole system approach that centres victims’ needs.

Parity of provision for both victims and perpetrators is paramount.

In a sector facing significant financial instability, this recent announcement also risks creating an imbalance across the sector. It is vital that investment in perpetrator programmes is matched by funding for specialist services for victims, including stalking services to ensure that no victim is left behind. We need clarity now on what that funding will look like given the demand and resource pressures faced by us and others, including by-and-for services.

We will continue to advocate for a system that responds to stalking in all its forms and centres victims’ needs throughout.

https://www.suzylamplugh.org/news/suzy-lamplugh-trust-responds-to-government-announcement-of-funding-package-to-address-domestic-abuse-perpetrators

 

July 29, 2025

15 September 2025 ~ Scottish Criminal Justice Committee seeks views on Bill which aims to prevent domestic abuse in Scotland – Closing date for submissions

Views are being sought on a new Bill which aims to reduce incidences of domestic abuse, by the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee.

The Prevention of Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill is a Members Bill which has been introduced by Pam Gosal, MSP.

The Bill is in four parts and would introduce notification requirements for certain people convicted of domestic abuse offences, similar to those for registered sex offenders. This would mean people would have to inform the police of things like their address or passport details.

It would give courts the power to order an assessment of the suitability of certain people convicted of domestic abuse to take part in rehabilitation or behaviour change programmes.

The Bill would place a data collection duty on Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and charities working with victims of domestic abuse, and an annual reporting duty on the Scottish Government.

If passed, the Bill would also require schools to provide education on domestic abuse and healthy relationships as part of the curriculum.

Police Scotland recorded 63,867 incidents of domestic abuse in 2023-24, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year.

Criminal Justice Committee Convener, Audrey Nicoll MSP, said:

“Our Committee is acutely aware of the devastating impact domestic abuse has on individuals, families, and communities across Scotland, and the latest statistics on domestic abuse show the scale of this issue.

“This Bill presents a range of proposals aiming to prevent domestic abuse, including statutory data collection on authorities and improving school education but we want to hear views on whether individuals and organisations support these proposals.

“We are particularly keen to hear from those with lived experience, their families and frontline professionals on if they agree with the proposals in this Bill, or if they feel other actions are required to tackle domestic abuse in Scotland.”

The call for views closes on 15 September 2025.

More at https://www.parliament.scot/about/news/news-listing/committee-seeks-views-on-bill-aiming-to-prevent-domestic-abuse

July 17, 2025

Misogynistic myths kicked out of classrooms to protect children – Department of Education

Government publishes final statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance for schools.

Children and young people will be better protected from the scourge of misogynism, deepfake porn and unhealthy attitudes to consent, power and control through new Relationships, Sex and Health Education guidance for schools being published on 15 July 2025.

The statutory guidance has a new focus on helping boys identify positive role models, and challenge myths about women and relationships that are spread online in the ‘manosphere’ – without stigmatising boys for being boys.

Secondary schools will also now include lessons on incel culture, including how a piece of content online can impact a person’s understanding of sexual ethics and behaviour, as well as increasing awareness of AI, deepfakes and how pornography links to misogyny.

It comes as new data published today shows misogynistic attitudes have reached epidemic scale by the end of secondary school. When asked to think about just the past week, over a third (37%) of pupils aged 11-19 had heard comments that made them concerned about the safety of girls, and over half (54%) said they had witnessed comments they would describe as misogynistic.

Other additions to the curriculum include spiking and methanol poisoning, increased focus on resilience and coping, a strengthened health syllabus so children are equipped with necessary knowledge on women’s health such as endometriosis and fertility.

The guidance builds on the government’s commitment to give every school child access to a mental health professional, delivering on the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, and comes ahead of the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy due to be published in the autumn.

Children will start to build positive attitudes to relationships between friends and family in primary school, followed by new dedicated content in secondary school that helps boys identify positive male role models, and all children to expect consent and kindness when they get ready for more intimate relationships.

Additional new content for secondary schools includes:

  • Sexual ethics beyond consent, for example teaching young people that yes doesn’t always mean yes as factors like peer pressure should be taken into account
  • Staying safe in public spaces, to match staying safe online, so young people know how to increase their personal safety in public spaces, build confidence in trusting their instincts and learn ways to seek help
  • Financial exploitation
  • Positive conceptions of femininity and masculinity

A strong new emphasis on age-appropriate and sequenced teaching, differentiated between primary and secondary school, will mean children don’t get taught things they are too young for, without proscribing specific ages to each individual topic.

The clear dividing line between what can be taught in primary and secondary school remains unchanged.

This will allow teachers to sensitively respond to topics that children might have seen online or heard from their friends – making sure children are kept safe and parents are informed.

Research shows over one in five (22%) of girls aged 7 to 10 had seen ‘rude images online’, and the average age for exposure to pornography is 13. This is also an issue the sector has regularly raised concerns about, with 3 out of 4 teachers surveyed worrying about the influence of online misogyny over their pupils.

That’s why, starting in early 2026, schools will be able to apply for an RSHE training grant, empowering the workforce to take on these challenges.

Oak National Academy, the publicly-funded provider of curriculum and teaching resources for schools, has released a set of online safety lessons reflecting this part of the guidance that will warn teenagers of the dangers of incel ideology and other forms of misogyny they encounter on the internet.

The guidance is absolutely clear that parents should be able to view all RSHE curriculum materials on request and that schools should not agree to any contractual restrictions on showing parents any content that the school will use.

To further support children to feel able to take on challenges and risks, they will be taught the importance of grit and resilience and to recognise that anxiety and low mood can be a normal of managing every day mental health.

With suicide being the biggest killer of under 35s, the guidance has made clear that secondary schools should work closely with mental health professionals on how to discuss suicide prevention in an age-appropriate way.

Schools can begin following the guidance from the new school year and it must be followed from September 2026.

Part of a longer press release at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/misogynistic-myths-kicked-out-of-classrooms-to-protect-children

July 17, 2025

The London Victim Attrition Review – London’s Victim’s Commissioner

Reflections and Recommendations from London’s Victims’ Commissioner

Since first beginning in my role as London’s Victims’ Commissioner in 2017, it has been clear that a significant proportion of victims who report to the police drop out of the justice process, known as ‘victim attrition’. On the face of it, there is little wonder why. Trust and confidence levels in the justice system have taken a considerable hit in recent years, investigations and charging decisions are taking huge amounts of time, and – as seen through my London Rape Reviews – can often involve victims sharing a significant amount of personal information. For those who do see their offender charged, the record and ever-increasing Crown Court backlogs mean that, as of writing, cases are being listed as far away as 2029, with a record 77,000 cases waiting to be heard in Crown Courts, 17,500 of which are in London – a 9% increase just in the last quarter. Victims endure these record waits while the prospect of a gruelling cross examination at court hangs over them.

Despite the seemingly obvious nature of why victims are withdrawing, it became evident there was a disconnect between what I was hearing from justice agencies and what victims had to say. The police would often say that many people reported the crime to have something on record, but without the intention to actually pursue it. When speaking with victims and their advocates though, a different picture would emerge; one where victims reported a crime in the hope of seeking justice, but where the justice system’s response would quickly dissuade them from staying engaged.

It was becoming clear there was a lot more to this than first thought, which is why in 2022 I commissioned the Evidence and Insight (E&I) Team in the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) to undertake this research to fully understand when, but also crucially why, victims are disengaging from the justice process.

We thank the Metropolitan Police, CPS, and other justice agencies for engaging with us and supporting this research. Through allowing access to their data, they are helping to improve the response to victims of crime, not only in London but nationally, as we know the concerns picked up through this research are not confined to the Metropolitan Police.

We also thank the victims who took part in this work. Victims are arguably the most important part of our justice system; without them, cases do not progress, offenders are not brought to justice, and the public are left at greater risk. Keeping victims engaged in the lengthy justice process should be a key priority for all agencies, and for Government.

We need to ensure justice is being done, and we cannot do that without victims.

Read the full recommendations at https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/about-mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/victims-commissioner/london-victim-attrition-review

 

July 17, 2025

CPS’s early handling of rape cases must urgently improve, says HMCPSI

  • Quality of decision making in rape cases requires significant improvement
  • Prosecutors are failing to focus thinking on suspect behaviours and not prioritising victims at the early stage of cases
  • There are variations in approach to rape case management across CPS Areas, contrary to the national operating model

The Crown Prosecution Service urgently need to improve their handling of rape cases at the early stage to reduce delays and increase the chances of conviction when cases get to court, and ensure victims are better supported, according to His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Inspectorate (HMCPSI).

HMCPSI have published today a thematic inspection into the quality of CPS’s early advice and pre- charge decision making in adult rape cases.

This is HMCPSI’s third report into how CPS prosecutes rape cases and follows the CPS’s implementation of a national operating model in July 2023. The model was developed to improve how the police and CPS deal with adult rape cases, promoting earlier collaborative work to build stronger cases.

Inspectors found that the quality of prosecutors’ case analysis was often weak and that the suspect- centric approach had not been embedded into case considerations.

This has hampered the ability for prosecutors to identify reasonable lines of enquiry and strengthen cases, over-focusing on victim credibility rather than thinking how they could strengthen the case through investigating the suspect.

Prosecutors also need to improve how victims’ issues are considered and dealt with at the earliest stage in the case.

Under three in ten cases fully met the standard for active consideration of applications and ancillary matters to support victims.

This included early consideration of special measures, victim personal statements (VPS) and restraining orders.

The inspection also identified significant variation across different CPS Areas in the handling of rape cases, including approach to early advice processes and in pre-charge decision timeliness.

Inspectors found that there had been closer collaboration between the police and prosecutors. However, HMCPSI could not find evidence of this consistently leading to better quality of decision making or an improvement in how cases could be built and strengthened to support victims.

HMCPSI have made eight recommendations for the CPS to implement:

  • By September 2025, on every adult rape case the CPS will offer a face-to-face or virtual meeting in every case referred for early advice before the early advice is finished.
  • By September 2025, on every adult rape case where no meeting took place at early stage advice, the CPS will offer a face-to-face or virtual meeting in every case before the pre charge decision is finalised.
  • By July 2026, the CPS will invest in development of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) prosecutors to improve casework quality by adding value through good quality prosecutorial decision-making demonstrating evidence-based suspect-centric case strategies.
  • By July 2026, the CPS to have significantly improved the quality of early advice and pre- charge decision reviews.
  • By October 2025, the CPS to have decided and communicated internally whether a victim communication letter explaining a decision to charge is compulsory in all adult rape cases.
  • From October 2025, the CPS to ensure that as a minimum, pre-charge advice cases with three or more substantive action plans are on the agenda to be scrutinised at Rape and Serious Sexual Offences local joint operational improvement meetings to identify and address themes and issues.
  • By October 2025, at local and strategic joint operational improvement meetings – the CPS must ensure that there is a clear, consistent and detailed recording of issues being raised at those meetings.
  • By December 2025, the CPS to have developed and implemented a quality assurance regime in rape cases, that assesses and improves casework quality.

Part of a longer press release at https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/24/2025/07/HMCPSI-Rape-Report-Press-notice.pdf

Download the report from https://hmcpsi.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/report/a-thematic-rape-inspection-report/

July 17, 2025