The UK Strategy to End Violence Against Women and Girls: What’s God got to do with it?

The UK Strategy to End Violence Against Women and Girls: What’s God got to do with it?

The UK Government’s ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: A Cross-Government Strategy’ was published in December 2025. The strategy has been described as ambitious and comprehensive. It makes commitments to prevention; to support survivors and to hold perpetrators accountable; it commits to protect all victim-survivors of violence against women and girls and emphasises the need for all of society to be included in the response. We were excited by the long-term commitment (10-year strategy by any government is rare) and its holistic approach, yet disappointment set in when we discovered that the ‘all-society’ approach completely missed faith communities. Read our full response here for more in depth detail

According to the most recent census’, across the UK more than 38.3 million people identify as having a religion. The Office of National Statistics estimates that by the end of 2026 the total population of the UK will be around 69.5 – 70 million. So, if we are thinking about a comprehensive all society approach can we really afford to ignore over 55% of the population in our plan to end violence against women and girls? And how are we ensuring that the commitment to protect all victim-survivors is upheld when they also live and come from faith communities?

Apart from the democratic necessity to ensure we engage 55% of citizens, we outline below why faith communities are an essential building block of the all-society approach that is central to this 10-year strategy.

Faith settings are often the first place victims seek help.

Our members consistently tell us that without appropriate guidelines, survivors may face unsafe responses, or delayed access to specialist support as their first disclosure is often to a trusted person in a faith community or a religious institutional context. In many ways, faith communities and leaders are on the frontline of the response to violence against women and often seen by victim-survivors as an important space for seeking justice. Research tells us that faith and spirituality can be an important source of resilience and recovery for survivors of domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence, therefore it is important that faith communities are equipped to respond well, so that they can be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem

Faith communities are essential partners in our efforts to ensure cultural and attitudinal change

Particularly if we want to work with men and boys. We cannot transform and embed community norms and behaviours to ensure the safety and thriving of women and girls without them. Evidence suggests that when they focus on centring the experiences of survivors, faith settings can play a constructive role in challenging misogyny, promoting gender equality, and supporting healthy relationships education. This will not only break down barriers for victim-survivors who are seeking help but will be a significant catalyst in their healing and recovery from abuse.

Spiritual abuse

Is a recognised form of abuse experienced by some women of faith, including the misuse of religious texts, doctrines or authority to justify violence and or coercive control. Faith leaders have a key role to play in addressing this form of abuse. Research highlights that when faith institutions work in partnership with women’s organisations, they can support both community education and improve the quality of the safeguarding experience for victim-survivors. Faith leaders are a very potent and long-lasting remedy to spiritual abuse which weaponises faith and religion against survivors.

Furthermore, our upcoming research reports highlight a worrying trend, that women from faith backgrounds will avoid seeking help if they believe services will misunderstand or stigmatise their faith, culture or immigration circumstances. Additionally, many women fear experiencing antisemitism, islamophobia or racism from specialist services and trained professionals that may not be culturally and faith literate. Without faith-informed policy and practice, VAWG sector responses can unintentionally miss unsafe patterns or risks that can potentially have catastrophic consequences for victim-survivors.

Our Policy Asks

1. Recognise faith settings as part of the safeguarding landscape

National guidance should be developed to recognise faith institutions as places women will seek help when they are experiencing abuse

2. Develop a national faith-literacy response framework

Government should co-create with faith informed, by and for organisations and faith communities’ national faith-literacy guidance for both statutory services and faith institutions.

3. Invest in specialist faith informed services

Funding should be made available to faith led services and faith institutions. Currently faith-led services or faith institutions are often disqualified from accessing funding that supports survivors due to systemic prohibitions on funding religious institutions or institutions that have a public faith identity.

4. Establish cross sector training programmes

Government should fund reciprocal training programmes bringing together:

• faith leaders and community organisations
• police, healthcare providers and local authorities
• specialist VAWG organisations.

This should be carried out by specialist faith based VAWG agencies who hold expertise on both faith and violence against women and girls

5. Support faith-based prevention initiatives

Funding should support prevention initiatives that:

• engage men and boys in conversations about violence and accountability
• promote healthy relationships and gender equality
• equip faith leaders with resources to challenge misogyny and harmful norms.

The UK Government’s strategy provides an important once in a decade (or two) opportunity to transform the national response to violence against women and girls. However, achieving the strategy’s ambitious goals will require engaging all parts of society where influence, trust and disclosure already exist. Faith communities represent one of the UK’s most significant yet under-recognised social infrastructures. Integrating them safely and responsibly into the strategy’s delivery can strengthen prevention, survivor support and community accountability, helping ensure that the strategy delivers meaningful change for women and girls across the country.