Progress made in strategy to tackle abuse of women - report

The strategy aims to deliver a transformation in Greater Manchester's approach to tackling violence against women and girls

A domestic abuse programme has been hailed as a "positive" step towards tackling violence aimed at women in Greater Manchester but more needs to be done, a report has said.

The delivery of the volunteer-led pilot, which sees a crisis worker join Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to reports of abuse across Salford and Bolton, forms part of the region's 10-year Gender-Based Violence Strategy plan.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority set out its strategy in 2021 to deliver a "radical transformation" following the murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer.

Kate Green, deputy mayor of Greater Manchester for policing, crime, criminal justice and fire said their second full year findings showed "significant achievements" but added there was "still much work to do".

'Significant progress'

She said: "We have made real progress and helped to make Greater Manchester a safer place.

"But we know that there is still much work to do, and that the pace of change needs to continue."

The NPCC report, published in July, found over one million Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) related crimes were recorded during 2022/23, accounting for 20% of all police recorded crime.

Greater Manchester's progress with domestic abuse arrest rates and solved crime rates increasingly showed that police were detecting significantly more crimes and ensuring that those who pose a risk are remanded into custody, Ms Green said.

Kate Green said the team would ensure they continued their "vital work"

The annual report identified four areas where Greater Manchester was making "significant progress".

It stated over the past year more than £5m in funding had been used to support services, including providing the volunteer-led domestic crisis workers.

Dr Gill Smallwood MBE, lead for the domestic abuse crisis pilot in Bolton, said the results of the pilot had been "really positive", adding: "Evidence suggests that by getting victims into a service quickly, it can reduce the abuse from escalating though the earlier interventions which can be offered."

A Lived Experience Panel, comprised of women with diverse experiences of gender-based violence, had helped "bridge the gap between policy and reality", the report said.

The extension of Andy Burnham's #IsThisOK? campaign had also been found to have an impact on men and boys' awareness of gender-based violence, the report found.