On paper, it’s a step forward. But reality is never quite that simple. Funding and implementation will determine whether Steps to Safety becomes a genuine lifeline or a bureaucratic exercise. What happens in rural towns where specialist services are thin on the ground? Will women in lower-income areas have the same access as those in affluent urban centres? And how quickly will training reach every GP practice? The ambition is clear, but the road to consistency is long.
The strategy also includes specialist police teams, wider availability of safe housing, educational programmes aimed at young men, and measures to address online abuse. Yet, the cultural questions remain. Does a top-down policy shift truly change public attitudes? Will perpetrators face meaningful consequences, or is the promise of “halving violence” dependent on measuring only certain types of incidents? Will society start treating women’s safety as a default expectation rather than a luxury?
The broader ambition is about prevention, too: fostering awareness from childhood, making communities safer, and embedding understanding into institutions that touch women’s lives daily. That’s where the strategy could be most transformative. If every sector — from healthcare to education — understands abuse, recognises risk, and knows how to respond, the shift could be generational.
And yet, there’s still a tension between ambition and delivery. Policies require oversight, resources, and cultural buy-in. Visibility alone doesn’t equal safety. NGOs, advocacy groups, and survivors themselves will remain crucial voices, ensuring that lofty goals are translated into practical, meaningful change.
For women, the real test will be subtle: feeling safe to walk home, confident that a GP visit could provide help, reassured that reporting abuse won’t be a bureaucratic maze. The strategy is a framework, not a guarantee — and it’s the lived experience of women that will ultimately measure its success.
So, what does the VAWG strategy really mean for women? It signals a moment of progress, an acknowledgment that safety is a societal responsibility, and that healthcare, justice, and education can’t turn a blind eye. But whether it will hold up — whether it will transform culture, reshape expectations, and tangibly reduce harm — remains a question. The next few years will reveal if this ambitious blueprint translates into real change, or if the work will fall to women and advocates to fill the gaps that policy leaves behind.
