“We’ve chaired parliamentary roundtables, commissioned groundbreaking investigations, and even won awards as part of our campaign calling for the IBA law to include the banning of nudification apps, funding specialist services, and focusing on prevention.
“I am pleased to see so many of our campaign goals reflected in the government’s VAWG strategy; a testament to the brilliance and tenacity of the survivors, campaigners, and experts we’ve been lucky enough to work with along the way.”
Jodie, Deepfake Abuse Survivor and Campaigner, and founder of Jodie Campaigns, welcomes the the government’s approach to digital abuse, but stresses that it cannot succeed unless a cultural shift accompanies it, she says: “There is a real risk that if this strategy focuses too heavily on technical fixes without fully addressing the culture that allows these abuses to flourish in the first place, the problem will continue to proliferate at speed. Image-based abuse, including deepfakes, does not exist in a vacuum. It sits within a wider ecosystem of misogyny, entitlement and a lack of accountability that technology alone cannot solve.”
While the government has legislated against non-consensual deepfakes, the law is yet to come into force, meaning survivors are living in a grey area. Elena Michael, Director of #NotYourPorn, also has doubts. “In terms of tackling online harms, it very much appears the government is out of touch with what the issues are, preferring grand commitments to filling the gaps tirelessly fought for by survivors and experts,” she tells Glamour. “A key example is their recent rejection of Baroness Owen’s vital amendments to block sites and provide 48-hour take-down measures in the Crime and Policing Bill supported by the Revenge Porn Helpline. We still have time for the government to turn this around, but they need to listen to what survivors need.”
The government will also introduce a pilot scheme of covert online operatives to tackle VAWG offences in digital spaces, just like we currently do for child sexual abuse. Police forces will be encouraged to use advanced data analytics to identify and target the most dangerous perpetrators of VAWG, the same techniques currently used to track organised criminals and terrorists. New forensic technology will enable police forces to track down rapists and sexual offenders, even reopening cold cases to give victims justice even years later.
Significantly, the government is committed to providing every police force in the country with a specialist rape and sexual offence (RASSO) team by 2029. Currently, fewer than 30 police forces have one.
While discussing how to balance entrusting police with tackling VAWG and rooting out misogyny and perpetrators within that force, Jess Phillips cited Dame Elish Angiolini QC’s inquiry into Sarah Everard’s death, saying, “One of the things that will be worked on is banning anyone who has a history of any sexual crime from ever becoming a police officer in the first place. We will have VAWG units within every police force by 2029, but along the way, police forces’ culture is going to have to change, not just by vetting and disciplinary actions but also through core training and expectations.”
Supporting and protecting survivors
To improve the protection and support of victims of VAWG, the government will roll out Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) across the UK, imposing curfews, tagging and exclusion zones on abusers. Over 1000 orders have already been issued since the pilot began in November 2024. The government also plans to improve the implementation of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (“Claire’s Law) and the ‘Right to Know’ scheme for victims of stalking, as well as considering the expansion of both schemes to encompass other forms of VAWG.