Violence Against Women and Girls - Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of Services: report

Chapter 5 - Preventing VAWG

This chapter looks at the vital role of prevention, and demonstrates why there needs to be a significant shift towards funding of prevention work in order to move us towards reducing and ultimately eradicating VAWG.

The need for a concerted, robust and evidence based programme on primary prevention of VAWG was raised throughout the Call for Evidence process and in our engagement. Prevention is a key feature of Equally Safe and is one of the four pillars of the Istanbul Convention. It also echoes the call within the Christie Commission for a repurposing of resources to address upstream causes of inequality.

While there is consensus on taking a prevention focus, the evidence on what works to do so is somewhat equivocal. Underpinning all efforts to address this is the recognition that it is indivisible from action to end sex discrimination and inequality. UN Women in collaboration with World Health Organisation (WHO) and others published a framework to support the design, implementation and evaluation of interventions promoting prevention of VAWG. RESPECT Women: Preventing violence against women notes the following prerequisites to achieving success:

• political commitment and leadership
• implementing laws and policies that promote gender equality
• investing in women's and children's organisations
• allocating resources to prevention
• addressing the multiple forms of discrimination women face daily

The framework outlines seven inter-related intervention strategies derived from the word "respect":

• Relationships skills strengthened
• Empowerment of women and children
• Services ensured
• Poverty reduced
• Environments made safe
• Child and adolescent abuse prevented
• Transformed attitudes, beliefs and norms

The framework underscores the need to adopt a multi-sectoral approach that works at individual, interpersonal, community, and societal levels as key points of prevention. As noted elsewhere in this report, reducing the risk factors for VAWG is essential to both protect women, children and young people from abuse and prevent it. Policies to tackle poverty, improve mental health, reduce alcohol abuse etc. are key to developing an effective prevention strategy. A good example is Close the Gap's initiative Equally Safe at Work – an employer accreditation scheme funded by Scottish Government to encourage employers to support prevention, and directly support workers experiencing GBV.

What Is Prevention?

Primary prevention – approaches that aim to prevent violence before it occurs

Secondary prevention – approaches that focus on the more immediate responses to violence, such as pre-hospital care, emergency services or treatment for sexually transmitted diseases following a rape. Secondary prevention also seeks to prevent further acts of violence

Tertiary prevention – approaches that focus on long-term care in the wake of violence, such as rehabilitation and reintegration, and attempts to lessen trauma or reduce the long-term disability associated with violence. Tertiary prevention also seeks to prevent further acts of violence.

World Health Organisation

Other important and welcome recent developments in this area are Police Scotland's new VAWG Strategy, published on 21 April 2023, and Baroness Kennedy's report Misogyny: a Human Rights Issue, published on 8 March 2022.

Equally Safe outlines steps towards realising gender equality and a programme of specific interventions focused on prevention. Everyday Heroes young people made a series of recommendations on tackling gender inequality in homes, schools, media, workplace and politics. Current efforts largely centre on the education sector. Initiatives such as the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), including Bystander approaches, have been rolled out in schools across the country.

As noted in Chapter 2, Who We Spoke To and What They Told Us, we spoke to a group of young women mentors in a Falkirk high school, who reflected that the success of their project was largely due to buy-in from senior staff. We were also told that schools are increasingly expected to be responsible for multiple initiatives around Personal & Social Education without being adequately resourced or funded to do so, which is not sustainable.

Rape Crisis Scotland also has a prevention package for schools and its pilot ' Whole Schools' approach is being evaluated. An 'Equally Safe in Higher Education' toolkit has been developed for universities.

The Scottish Government reviewed these interventions as part of its 2020 Preventing Violence against Women and Girls – what works: evidence summary, concluding there was some 'promising' evidence for their effectiveness. The Erase the Grey campaign – launched by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) – has key messages which challenge stereotypical attitudes and behaviours and reiterates a zero-tolerance policy towards GBV.

The NACWG in its first phase commissioned research to look at models to develop a 'What Works? Institute' to "develop and test robust, evidence-led, inclusive and representative approaches to changing public attitudes in Scotland to girls' and women's equality and rights, including dismantling stereotypes about what girls and women should study, work at, and be" (NACWG 2019). The resulting report made series of recommendations primarily focusing on work to challenge and change prevailing beliefs, attitudes and values on VAWG.

The reports referred to above highlight the limitations of existing research that centres on attitudinal change as an outcome. Evidence on how attitudinal change impacts on long -term behavioural changes is 'sparse'. The need for longitudinal studies, and research tailored to the Scottish context were recommended alongside more community based interventions. Across both the Evidence Summary and the NACWG research, the lack of studies adopting an intersectional approach was noted as a significant limitation. Most studies do not consider the impact on different populations.

Contributors to the Call for Evidence also highlighted the following issues they consider to be obstacles to progressing work on prevention:

• Despite the need for significant investment to make lasting impact there is no agreed commissioning model or framework for local authorities (LAs) or partnerships to follow
• Current SG funding is focused on acute and downstream need
• The lack of demonstrable short-term outcomes coupled with the lack of a clear strategic focus on prevention
• The lack of cross-policy initiatives e.g. with portfolios on children and young people, or working with young men and boys in communities
• The lack of coherence and leadership across the prevention agenda; particularly the roles of LAs, NHS, Police and other actors who are key to taking this forward

There is widespread agreement that primary prevention of VAWG is urgently required. Challenging the attitudes, norms and structures that give rise to and sustain gender inequality and VAWG demands a comprehensive, coordinated approach across all levels of society.

We agree with the call for strengthening existing work on primary prevention in Scotland.