Call for funds to confront violence against women

A sexual abuse charity has welcomed government efforts to confront violence against woman and girls (VAWG) but said extra funding was needed.

Labour has unveiled a series of measures, including training for teachers, and better NHS support for child and adult survivors.

Daisy Anderson, chief executive of Guildford-based support charity RASASC, told BBC Radio Surrey that the initiative was "promising" but that until it gets implemented "it is just words".

She added: "We're supporting people over longer and longer terms...so we need more money to be able to join the dots."

Ms Anderson described the up to £50m allocated to give child sexual abuse survivors access to specialist, trauma-informed care as "brilliant".

She also welcomed the promise of a new referral scheme to connect victims with specialist help via their GPs.

However she said this scheme, which will be launched nationwide by 2029, does not come with any "accompanying money" for referral services.

She said her charity - the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre - was "already operating without sufficient funds".

"So if there's going to be this investment in increasing referrals, how are we then going to absorb that?" she added.

Surrey's Conservative police and crime commissioner, Lisa Townsend, says she was "underwhelmed" by the strategy.

"I've not heard anything new that that we're not already doing in Surrey already," she said.

The PCC stressed that Surrey Police already has had specialist rape and sexual offence teams "for some time".

In terms of the training for teachers, Ms Townsend believes "we do have to focus on what we want to see in schools" but she is concerned with what she considers a growing narrative.

"I do have a real concern that we're demonising boys," she said.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

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