Education can tackle violence against women and girls, says Cambridgeshire domestic abuse survivor
A new report claims violence against women and girls is 'a national emergency'
A domestic abuse survivor from Cambridgeshire believes more education is key to getting better protection against the crime.
It comes as a report - commissioned by the National Police Chiefs' Council and the College of Policing - described violence against women and girls as a "national emergency", with almost 3,000 crimes reported each day.
The report found in 2022-23, police recorded more than one million violent crimes against women and girls.
"We're not educating people from a young enough age"
Sharon Livermore MBE was close to losing her life in 2015 at the hands of her ex-husband, and now educates businesses about domestic abuse.
"I think we're not educating people from a young enough age about the do's and do not's, so society from a young age are growing up into thinking that certain things are okay when they're not," she said.
"I think everyone needs to come together to recognise that.
"You can't change something overnight; you've got people coming into the police force, they have to be trained and we know police are at pressure (point); that doesn't mean they shouldn't be responding in the right way but we need to work with what we've got."
What does the report say?
The National Policing Statement for Violence Against Women and Girls found that such crimes accounted for just under 20% of all police-recorded crime excluding fraud in England and Wales between April 2022 and March 2023.
The report estimated that at least one in every 12 women will be a victim per year - which is two million women - with the exact number expected to be much higher because of crimes that go unreported.
More than 4,500 new officers have been trained to investigate rape and serious sexual offences over the last year, with the report showing a 38% increase in charges for adult rape from the year ending December 2022 to the year ending December 2023.
Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, NPCC lead for violence against women and girls, said the creation of a National Centre for Public Protection would support police forces with specialist knowledge and training for investigators and officers.
"A centralised hub within policing that brings together specialised skill sets and capabilities would support police forces in improving their response to violence against women and girls," she said.
"Violence against women and girls is a national emergency.
"We need the support and direction of government to intervene and address the current problems within the criminal justice system and lead the way on a whole-system approach to violence against women and girls."
"We don't need to prove this as an issue"
Sharon believes that violence against women and girls is too serious to be ignored.
"My victim liaison officer I had probably wasn't compassionate and empathetic enough at the time, so training on that side of things and understanding what one victim needs isn't the same as the next victim," she added.
"We don't need to prove this as an issue; it's about coming together and looking at a solution.
"It's never going to solve the problem, but a solution to the issues we have to try and make it as best we can and keep as many women and girls safe because it isn't safe."
What does the Government say?
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips said the Government will treat violence against women and girls "as the national emergency that it is.
“That’s why we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, overhauling every aspect of society’s response to these devastating crimes.
“That must start with drastically improving the policing and criminal justice response, including a relentless pursuit of dangerous perpetrators and sustained support for victims."
Ms Phillips said the Government welcomes a national centre "as a first step to focus policing efforts, and we now expect to see sustained work across policing to drive up standards and to ensure there is always a swift and specialist response to these appalling crimes.”