Government publishes its long-awaited Violence Against Women
and Girls Strategy
On 18th December 2025 the Government published its awaited Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy 2025–2030, which explicitly targets misogyny and abuse through prevention, education, protection and justice initiatives.
The strategy recognises that harmful attitudes and misogynistic behaviours fuel violence, abuse and exploitation, and that tackling these attitudes early — including in education and online — is key to preventing harm.
What is the rationale for the Government’s position?
The official rationale is that:
- misogynistic attitude and belief systems do real harm, contributing to violence, abuse, harassment and exploitation;
- early intervention (education and behaviour change) will stop misogyny becoming entrenched;
- a holistic approach — combining education, criminal justice, online safety, and community support — is needed rather than treating any single incident in isolation.
A summary of the Government’s strategy on misogyny
The UK Government’s strategy is not a single “anti-misogyny” law but a cross-government programme largely anchored in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.
Key components include:
- Prevention through education — curriculum, teacher training, healthy relationships
- Early intervention for problematic attitudes — especially in youth
- Stronger justice system response — specialist police teams, support for victims
- Online safety and tech regulation — curbing misogynistic content and abuse
- Potential expansion in broader policy arenas, including discussions about misogyny and extremism or hate crime frameworks.
The Education Pillar
One major pillar of the strategy involves schools and young people, with plans to:
- Teach healthy relationships, consent, and respect in the curriculum
- Help pupils understand and challenge misogynistic memes and harmful online content
- Train teachers to spot early signs of misogynistic attitudes and intervene
- Pilot specialist programmes for young people starting to show harmful behaviours
- Offer an online helpline to help teenagers address concerning behaviour before it escalates.
This is not just about responding to violence after it happens — the government wants to embed prevention and cultural change into education and youth safeguarding.
Training implications for the Education sector
For schools, trusts and safeguarding leads, this strategy means:
- Reviewing curriculum compliance
- Developing teacher training on misogynistic attitudes and relationship abuse
- Strengthening behaviour policies that address harmful attitudes
- Coordinating with local VAWG partnerships
- Incorporating online safety and consent messaging in whole-school culture
Is there an implementation timetable?
- There is no single statutory timetable that applies to all elements — different parts of the strategy have different delivery timelines and many will depend on secondary policy decisions and funding allocations.
- Some specific legislative elements (e.g., new offences or enhanced enforcement mechanisms) have not yet been fully legislated, so their precise commencement may stretch beyond 2027.
What does this mean in practice?
✔ Expect increased focus on healthy relationships, education, and early prevention
✔ Prepare for expanded training and monitoring frameworks in 2026–27
✔ Anticipate systemic and cultural change programmes running through to 2030
HR Connect will continue to support and provide guidance to our education clients as the proposals progress.