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Wales Online
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Jemma Crew (PA) & Ryan Hooper (PA) & Erin Santillo

17 key actions from the UK government's plan to tackle violence against women

The UK Government has published a strategy on tackling violence against women and girls that it hopes will help "bring about real and lasting change".

Its aims include increasing support for victims, increasing the number of perpetrators brought to justice, and improving victim engagement with the police.

The Government's long-term ambition is to reduce the prevalence of violence against women and girls by preventing more of these crimes in the first place.

Here are some of the key actions the Government has set out:

1) A national communications campaign to raise awareness of violence against women and girls and create behaviour change

2) A £3 million fund to better understand what works to prevent violence against women and girls

3) A £5 million Safety of Women at Night Fund to prevent violence in public spaces at night, in addition to the £25 million Safer Streets Fund

4) The piloting of an anonymous online tool, StreetSafe, allowing the public to report areas where they feel unsafe

5) Better support for teachers to deliver the recently introduced Relationships, Sex and Health education curriculum, and exploring how young people such as university students can support this

6) A £1.5 million fund to further increase provision for specialist support services such as the "revenge porn" helpline

7) The Department for Education will work with the Office for Students to tackle sexual harassment and abuse in higher education, and will review options to limit use of Non-Disclosure Agreements

8) Local projects by NHS England and NHS Improvement for enhanced trauma-informed mental health support for sexual abuse victims with the most complex needs

9) An independent review into the police management of registered sex offenders in the community

10) £500,000 to help the National Crime Agency develop new methods to identify serial sexual offenders from existing data

11) The Department for Health and Social Care will work to criminalise "virginity testing"

12) New advice from the College of Policing on existing laws for police officers to more effectively respond to street harassment; and to better understand the effectiveness of existing offences in tackling the issue of sex for rent; ensure that proper use is consistently made of tools such as Stalking Protection Orders; and better respond to cases of so-called "honour"-based abuse.

13) Consideration of where there may be gaps in existing law and how a specific offence for public sexual harassment could address those

14) Consideration of the Law Commission's recommendations for a range of new offences, including a new threatening communications offence, and a new offence of cyberflashing

15) The introduction of a National Policing Lead for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls

16) A Home Office review of the disclosure and barring regime

17) The appointment of a new Violence Against Women and Girls Transport Champion.

Full details of the government's strategy can be found here.

For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.

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