In December 2025, the UK Government published Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls, marking a landmark policy commitment to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) over the next decade. This strategy reframes VAWG as not just a criminal justice issue, but a deeply rooted societal problem demanding coordinated action across government, services, communities, and the private and voluntary sectors.
Bringing together policymakers, key stakeholders, frontline service providers, survivors and civil society, Westminster Insight’s Tackling Violence against Women and Girls Conference explores what the strategy means in practice and how it can be implemented. We will hear from three of the Government departments involved in the delivery of the Strategy. A Home Office Minister will deliver a keynote address on next steps for the VAWG strategy, including prevention, updates to policing and technology, and working together to improve data and outcomes. Shreena Kotecha, Deputy Director, Department for Education will discuss the next steps for the VAWG Strategy within education. Jess Asato MP, VAWG Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care will discuss plans to reform the NHS response to violence against women and girls.
Gain insight into how national investment will be allocated to tackle VAWG, how funding streams will evolve over the lifetime of the strategy, and what this means for local commissioning and service planning. We will explore how organisations can secure funding, demonstrate value for money, and build robust cases for prevention, early intervention and support services.
Attend to hear more about the four core pillars of the government’s VAWG strategy:
We will also spotlight the growing impact of technology-facilitated abuse and online harms, stalking and harassment as critical emerging threats that require updated legal, policing, and safeguarding responses. How are police forces and partners using cutting-edge technology to prevent and detect abuse and close the gap between perpetration and enforcement?
Hear from senior decision-makers sharing emerging good practice on commissioning, workforce capability, partnership working and the practical challenges of delivering the four pillars of the strategy at scale.
We will address how to deliver comprehensive support for victims, including delivering ‘sanctuary schemes’ for survivors to remain at home, therapeutic support for survivors, the world-leading Child House (Barnahus) model, and ensuring diverse “by and for” services through local partners.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear crucial updates, network, and contribute to a safer society for women and girls.
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Great event. Really interesting insights into important areas of our work.
Poppy Goldsmith, National Crime Agency
Really interesting and informative. Good to hear about practice across the country and have such a varied selection of speakers and topics.
Louise Morfitt, North Northamptonshire Council
Very insightful and interesting. A real reminder of why doing this work is so incredibly important.
Nadia Bakir, Liverpool John Moores University
CEO, Women’s Aid
A charity executive with over 20 years of director-level experience, Farah is passionate about women’s rights. She has worked on women’s rights and gender issues for most of her career and is committed to feminist principles of leadership including courage, sharing of power and accountable collaboration
Deputy Director, Department for Education
Member, Public Accounts Committee
Rachel is the Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Minehead, a rural constituency that straddles the Devon-Somerset border. As an MP she sits on the Public Accounts Committee.
Her career has spanned many areas. Beginning her career as a teacher, Rachel then worked in roles with national and international NGOs, including in former Eastern-bloc countries. More recently, she was Director of Communications at the National Farmers’ Union – becoming its first female board member in 100 years – before going on to be the Head of Strategy at the Environment Agency.
As a politician and a working mother, Rachel has mastered many important skills. She thrives on the camaraderie of the campaign trail, knows how to keep people’s spirits up, and is focused on being the best constituency MP she can be.
Senior Subject Specialist, PSHE Association
Jenny is a Senior Subject Specialist at the PSHE Association, working closely with the Director of Education to lead the Subject Specialist team. She led PSHE education in two London schools, and has a Masters in Teaching and Learning. Since joining the PSHE Association, she has worked with a range of agencies, from the NSPCC, to the Home Office, to the National Crime Agency, developing materials that support schools to deliver highly effective, safe PSHE education
Assistant Headteacher, Pastoral and Safeguarding, DSL, Malton Secondary School
Meet your colleagues and make new connections.
Member, Education Committee
Jess Asato is the Member of Parliament for Lowestoft, elected in 2024, and a member of the Education Select Committee. Prior to being elected, Jess was the Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the children’s charity Barnardo’s, worked for the domestic abuse charity SafeLives, and was a political advisor to Tessa Jowell.
Women and Girls Online Safety Lead, Ofcom
Medical Director, Institute for Addressing Strangulation
Professor Catherine White is the Medical Director for IFAS. Previously the Clinical Director of St Mary’s SARC, Manchester, Cath is the Sexual Offence Medicine lead for the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine.
Her research was used as evidence to change the law regarding strangulation. Cath was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in The Queen’s 2014 New Year’s Honours List for services to Vulnerable People.
Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP), CPS West Midlands and National Lead for Rape and Serious Sexual Offences, , Crown Prosecution Service
Siobhan Blake was appointed Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) of CPS West Midlands in March 2021, having previously been the Chief Crown Prosecutor of Mersey-Cheshire since 2016. Before this, she was Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for Cymru-Wales Area for four years.
Siobhan qualified as a solicitor having studied law at Southampton and joined the CPS in 1994 as a trainee solicitor. After qualification Siobhan worked in private practice for a period before returning to the CPS.
Siobhan is an experienced prosecutor who has advised upon and prosecuted many high-profile cases, becoming a specialist in the prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences. She obtained her Higher Rights of Audience in 2004 and became a frontline manager in 2005.
Siobhan has been at the forefront of the work undertaken by the CPS to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) – domestic violence, rape and other violent offences in which the victims are predominantly women. She is now the National CCP Lead for the CPS on rape and serious sexual offence prosecutions.
Lighthouse Clinical Lead
Chairperson of the 100 Domestic Abuse Champions, Housing Directorate, Islington Council
Director of Housing & Criminal Justice, Standing Together
Emma has a background in Youth and Community work and extensive experience in developing and delivering frontline services for families and individuals affected by domestic abuse. Currently, she serves as the Director of Housing for Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, where she leads initiatives including the Whole Housing Approach, Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA), and teams addressing multiple disadvantages and homelessness.
Her previous roles include serving as the Strategic Lead for Domestic and Sexual Abuse in Cheshire East, where she coordinated efforts to end domestic abuse through agency collaboration and cocreation with those directly affected. Additionally, Emma was the Senior Project Development Lead for the Drive Project, focusing on high-risk perpetrator interventions, and the Senior Knowledge Hub Advisor for SafeLives, acting as the national technical advisor for innovative approaches to child safeguarding and domestic abuse.
CEO
Women’s Aid
A charity executive with over 20 years of director-level experience, Farah is passionate about women’s rights. She has worked on women’s rights and gender issues for most of her career and is committed to feminist principles of leadership including courage, sharing of power and accountable collaboration
Deputy Director
Department for Education
Member
Public Accounts Committee
Rachel is the Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Minehead, a rural constituency that straddles the Devon-Somerset border. As an MP she sits on the Public Accounts Committee.
Her career has spanned many areas. Beginning her career as a teacher, Rachel then worked in roles with national and international NGOs, including in former Eastern-bloc countries. More recently, she was Director of Communications at the National Farmers’ Union – becoming its first female board member in 100 years – before going on to be the Head of Strategy at the Environment Agency.
As a politician and a working mother, Rachel has mastered many important skills. She thrives on the camaraderie of the campaign trail, knows how to keep people’s spirits up, and is focused on being the best constituency MP she can be.
Senior Subject Specialist
PSHE Association
Jenny is a Senior Subject Specialist at the PSHE Association, working closely with the Director of Education to lead the Subject Specialist team. She led PSHE education in two London schools, and has a Masters in Teaching and Learning. Since joining the PSHE Association, she has worked with a range of agencies, from the NSPCC, to the Home Office, to the National Crime Agency, developing materials that support schools to deliver highly effective, safe PSHE education
VAWG Adviser
Department of Health and Social Care
Medical Director
Institute for Addressing Strangulation
Professor Catherine White is the Medical Director for IFAS. Previously the Clinical Director of St Mary’s SARC, Manchester, Cath is the Sexual Offence Medicine lead for the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine.
Her research was used as evidence to change the law regarding strangulation. Cath was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in The Queen’s 2014 New Year’s Honours List for services to Vulnerable People.
Chairperson of the 100 Domestic Abuse Champions, Housing Directorate
Islington Council
Lighthouse Clinical Lead
Director of Housing & Criminal Justice
Standing Together
Emma has a background in Youth and Community work and extensive experience in developing and delivering frontline services for families and individuals affected by domestic abuse. Currently, she serves as the Director of Housing for Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, where she leads initiatives including the Whole Housing Approach, Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA), and teams addressing multiple disadvantages and homelessness.
Her previous roles include serving as the Strategic Lead for Domestic and Sexual Abuse in Cheshire East, where she coordinated efforts to end domestic abuse through agency collaboration and cocreation with those directly affected. Additionally, Emma was the Senior Project Development Lead for the Drive Project, focusing on high-risk perpetrator interventions, and the Senior Knowledge Hub Advisor for SafeLives, acting as the national technical advisor for innovative approaches to child safeguarding and domestic abuse.
Pier Training is a national apprenticeship and commercial training provider, established in 2011 with a mission to place learners and employers at the heart of every programme. We specialise in Protective Services, Clinical Healthcare, and Leadership and Management, supporting organisations across public and private sectors to build skilled, confident, future ready workforces. As the only provider nationally delivering the Level 4 Domestic and Sexual Abuse Support Worker apprenticeship, alongside a wider suite of Protective Services programmes, we are committed to developing resilient, community focused professionals. Our expert team brings deep sector knowledge and a passion for meaningful, career focused learning that drives real impact.
This conference is CPD certified.
Contribute 5.5 hours towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and receive a certificate of attendance.
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