A ban on sick AI ‘nudification’ apps, steps to prevent children viewing and sharing nude images, tackling misogyny in schools and greater powers for police have been announced

Jess Phillips sets out the government’s violence against women and girls strategy

 

A groundbreaking ban on sick AI apps and a pledge to make it impossible for children to share nude images are among a raft of new measures to tackle violence against women and girls.

 

Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips today unveiled a long-awaited strategy which she said will represent a culture change. The Government has branded it the biggest clampdown on violence against women and girls (VAWG) in British history.

 

Labour came to power pledging to halve cases within a decade. Today’s strategy will be backed up by £1billion in funding for victims, Ms Phillips announced. It includes increased support for survivors, steps to tackle misogyny in schools and greater powers for police and the courts to tackle perpetrators.

The Government said a whole society approach is needed to keep women and girls safe. The strategy called on the public and wider services to challenge harmful behaviour and misogyny.

Ms Phillips told the Commons: “Every day, 200 r@pes are reported to the police and many go unreported. Behind every one of these figures is a woman or girl whose life has been shattered. “And behind every crime lies a perpetrator who all too often gets away scot free. For too long we have accepted the statistics as simply a fact of life. Today, this government says no more.”

Tackling misogyny in schools

A package of measures to tackle misogyny in schools is a central part of the strategy.

Keir Starmer said the £20million project will help deliver “a responsibility we owe the next generation”. Under the plans, teachers will be given specialist training on how to talk to children about issues including consent and the dangers of sharing intimate images. Schools will be selected for a pilot next year, and contracts will be awarded on a school-by-school basis.

Best practice will then be shared, with the Government vowing every child will have access to specialist support by 2029. A new helpline will be launched for young people concerned about their behaviours to get the help they need.

Outlawing deepfake apps

New laws will ban ‘nudification’ tools – sick software that uses AI to turn images of real people into fake nude pictures and videos without their permission.

Ministers have pledged to make it impossible for children in the UK to take, share or view a nude image using their phones. The government will join forces with tech companies in a step to protect young people from grooming, extortion, bullying, harassment and s3xual abuse.

Roxy Longworth, founder of the campaign Behind our Screens, was coerced into sending intimate images, which were then shared without her consent. Roxy, who was 13 at the time, faced widespread humiliation, bullying, and a severe mental-health crisis.

 

She said: “If device controls like these had existed when I was 13, my life would have been completely different. I would not have been coerced, blackmailed, abused and I would have been saved the devastating humiliation and mental health crisis that followed.

“It’s so important that technology is used to protect young people, not harm them. I’m also relieved to see nudification apps being banned and that the Government is taking action to protect the next generation from new technological threats.”

 

Improved NHS support for survivors

NHS support for victims of domestic and s3xual abuse will be ramped up as part of the biggest crackdown on violence against women in British history, the Government vowed.

Wes Streeting said up to £50million will be ploughed into specialist services for child s3x abuse victims. The Health Secretary unveiled a raft of initiatives ahead of the long-awaited violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy, expected this week.

A dedicated referral service for women and girls affected by violence will be up and running in every area of England by 2029, he vowed. This will end a postcode lottery of support, the Government said.

 

There will also be training for GP surgery staff to spot signs of domestic abuse and s3xual violence. Mr Streeting stated: “Victims and survivors of abuse need more than promises – they need change.

“No child should also face their darkest moment alone or be forced to relive their trauma repeatedly to multiple professionals. As a service that often has first eyes on abuse victims, the NHS plays a vital role in supporting and treating victims.

“These changes will put victims first, making sure they have specialist care and reliable support when they need it most.

 

Safe housing for victims escaping abusers

Ms Phillips announced the Government’s plans will be backed by £1billion. She told MPs that £500million of this will be used to provide safe housing for people fleeing their abusers.

Campaign groups have long warned that the sector is at crisis point, with charities and local services forced to turn people away. Addressing the Commons Ms Phillips said: “We will be backing this strategy with over £1 billion in victims funding.

“This includes over half a billion pounds for victims services, and another half a billion pounds providing safe housing for victims of abuse as they escape their abusers.”

 

The strategy document states: “No one should be forced to remain in an unsafe situation because they fear becominghomeless. As a government, we are committed to ensuring that the housing systemen ables victims to escape abuse and rebuild their lives.”

Grooming to be aggravated factor

The Government has confirmed new legislation will make grooming a statutory aggravating factor in the sentencing of child s3xual offences.

The strategy said this will apply to abusers involved in grooming gangs – but will not be limited to them. The document states: “We are unwavering in our determination to identify these horrific crimes, to punish perpetrators and to protect children from harm.”

 

Forensic breakthroughs to tackle cold cases

Ms Phillips told the Commons that by 2029, every police force in England and Wales will have a specialist r@pe and s3xual offenses team.

She said: “We will also ensure police forces use the same data driven approach to tracking offenders that we apply to terrorists and serious, organised criminals. New forensic technology will be used to track down rapists and s3x offenders, allowing us to reopen cold cases and bring offenders to justice many years after they thought they had got away with it.”

Strengthening orders on perpetrators

The strategy will see Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) rolled out to all police forces and courts across England and Wales.

 

DAPOs are branded a “game-changing new protective order” that can impose a combination of tougher prohibitions and requirements on perpetrators – both going through the criminal justice system and out in the community.

And Stalking Protection Orders(SPOs) will be strengthened – with their use to be driven up to enforce conditions and monitor breaches.

New laws to tackle child s3xual abuse online

The strategy promises a new law to ensure that there are no “safe spaces” for vile criminals to commit online child s3xual abuse.

 

This new criminal offence will target moderators and administrators who run sites dedicated to child s3xual abuse – either sharing child s3xual abuse material content or advice on how to commit sickening offences.

Laws will be strengthened to criminalise those who produce and share “paedophile manuals” to cover using AI to create child s3xual abuse material.

‘Trauma informed’ court measures

The Government promises “bold reform” in the justice system to deal with long delays are trauma for survivors and victims.

 

This will include criminal courts and family courts, the strategy states. It says: “We will ensure that the family courts are no longer spaces where victims and survivors of VAWG can be revictimised.

“Through a programme of reform, we will reduce opportunities for perpetrators to misuse legal processes, strengthen protections for victims, survivors and children, and embed a trauma-informed approach across the system.

“These changes will help to shift the culture within the family courts, prioritising safety, accountability, and the welfare of the child above all else.”

 

Expanding Clare’s Law

Lifesaving laws allowing police to reveal details about domestic and s3x abusers are set to be expanded.

Clare’s Law – passed in memory of murder victim Clare Wood – will be widened to include offences like stalking and s3x assault. Clare, 36, was murdered by her ex, George Appleton, in 2009.

 

She was unaware that Appleton had a long history of violence against women, including a three year jail term for harassing another woman. The law passed in her name created a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS), which means police can reveal whether someone’s new partner has an abusive or violent offending.

Under the proposed shake-up, police will be able to inform victims and would-be victims of other forms of violence against women or girls (VAWG) their partner has previously been convicted of.

Ms Mahmood told The Mirror the move will give women more “power and control” over their safety. The Home Secretary said: “This will be part of my plans to deploy the full power of the state to introduce the largest crackdown on violence perpetrated against women and girls in British history.

 

“With all of Government and all of society committed to this cause, we can turn people away from committing these awful crimes; bear down on abusers and stop them in their tracks and support victims so they get the justice they deserve.”

Banning strangulation and suffocation in pornography

The strategy sets out plans to ban strangulation and suffocation in pornography – saying alarming research shows it is being mimicked in real life.

The document says: “We knowthat watching pornography can shape s3xual scripts. In particular, the normalisation of strangulation or ‘choking’ in pornography is now being mimicked at an alarming rate in real s3xual encounters with potentially life-threatening consequences without an understanding of the risks of harm.”

 

It continues: “This is why this Government will ban strangulation and suffocation in pornography.”

Whole of society approach needed

The strategy says that everyone must play a role in tackling VAWG by challenging and disrupting perpetrators.

It states: “We each have arole to play, whether by challenging harmful behaviours when we see them, reflecting on our own actions, or setting a positive example. Beyond the individual, it is critical that all frontline services that may come across VAWG are equipped not only to identify and support victims and survivors, but also to recognise, challenge, and disrupt perpetrator behaviour at the earliest opportunity.”

 

The document states: “We must make VAWG everyone’s business to reduce it meaningfully over the long-term.”