The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy was agreed yesterday (25 November), coinciding with the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Islington Council strongly believes that every woman and girl has the right to pursue a fulfilling and successful life without fear of intimidation, harassment, bullying or violence. For many women, however, this right is not respected.

The VAWG Strategy’s mission statement is clear:

“Islington has a zero-tolerance approach to the mistreatment, abuse and violation of women and girls. Any form of violence against women and girls is unacceptable and abhorrent. Our aim is to eliminate all forms of such violence, support survivors and to rehabilitate and make perpetrators accountable for their actions. Regardless of our own gender, we all stand in solidarity with our sisters to eradicate this epidemic.”

Over the next five years and beyond, the council will work towards this vision, as a partnership, by ensuring that Islington continues to be one of the leading and most forward-thinking areas in the country when it comes to tackling all forms of violence and abuse against women and girls.

The strategy is underpinned by extensive research; the council began by listening to the voices of survivors and others affected by VAWG, and finding out what they care about. It worked closely with partners, including Islington Police, Solace Women’s Aid, and Respect, to develop these into five key priorities:

• Create and deliver a co-ordinated community response
• Prevent violence and abuse from happening
• Protect survivors and families, and provide support to help them to repair and recover from the violence and abuse they have experienced
• Challenge inequality throughout the delivery of our VAWG services and approach, to prevent discrimination and address the impacts of intersectionality
• Make perpetrators visible and accountable

Cllr Sue Lukes, Executive Member for Community Safety and co-chair of the VAWG Strategic Partnership Board, said: “We work hard to make Islington a place worthy of all the wonderful women and girls who live here. We have put together an innovative and comprehensive strategy, based on effective partnerships, and are thrilled to be launching it.

“We must tackle and reduce violence against women and girls, we owe it to the one in three women who have experienced domestic abuse, and to their families. We owe it to the survivors of sexual offences and other forms of violence and to the victims of harassment and those who fear it. I am sure our strategy will bring our communities and partners together to tackle these urgent problems, and make our borough safer for women and girls.”

Cllr Michelline Ngongo, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families, added: “We have achieved so much in recent times – supporting more and more women and girls who need help and protection, establishing best practice as one of the first in London to introduce daily safeguarding meetings, and commissioning a range of excellent services for women and girls.

“We know that there is more to do to make our community safer for all women and girls, and we are determined to do this in collaboration with our partners, which, of course, include the survivors of violence and abuse.”

Tanya Pinnock, a survivor of VAWG and co-chair of the VAWG Strategic Partnership Board, said: “I fully support the strategy, which has been developed with survivors to ensure that victims and survivors are at the heart of tackling all forms of VAWG.”

More information about our VAWG strategy 2021–2026 can be found on our website at www.islington.gov.uk/VAWG

The full list of partners the council collaborated with is:

• Better Lives
• Domestic Violence Intervention Project
• Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Anti-Violence and Policing Group
• Islington Police
• Pause Project
• Respect
• Samira (Imece, Latin American Women’s Aid, and the Kurdish and Middle Eastern Women’s Organisation)
• Single Homeless Project
• Solace Women’s Aid
• The Sunflower Project
• Violence Reduction Unit Parental Support Project
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