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Violence against women and girls (VAWG) has been described as an epidemic by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the body that co-ordinates national responses to policing priorities across England and Wales.  At the same time as the government has announced a key target of halving VAWG over 10 years, and has made VAWG a national policing priority.  However the nature of VAWG is rapidly changing, affected by the digital revolution that has profoundly affected society over recent years.  This transformation has been acknowledged by the NPCC, which has described technology-enabled and online VAWG as a priority threat within the annual threat assessment.  So what is policing actually doing to address this priority?

The Centre for Protecting Women Online (CPWO) developed and submitted an inter-disciplinary response to a consultation from the Home Affairs Committee regarding how governmental funding should be allocated in order to strengthen efforts in tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). The Centre’s response included perspectives from law and policy, psychology, technology and AI, as well as policing. It highlighted key recommendations for the government, the importance of allocating funding and where it could be best used.

CPWO responds to the UK Parliament consultation on AI in Finance. This response highlighted the opportunities and challenges AI presents.

CPWO responds to the Human Rights Council’s Advisory Committee’s Questionnaire on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence against women and girls. The centre submitted an inter-disciplinary response which included perspectives from law and policy, psychology, technology and AI as well as policing. This response highlighted the current issues and gaps in relation to tackling TFGBV.

This consultation gave relevant stakeholders, including the Centre for Protecting Women Online (CPWO), an opportunity to share their views on how the government should tackle VAWG. This violence is an increasingly growing problem, further facilitated by online platforms. The online environment makes it easier for perpetrators of VAWG to harass, stalk and abuse victims, as it allows for a global reach, online anonymity, and provides an outlet of misogynistic views.

It is estimated that 11 million people in the UK are dating online and with Valentine’s Day approaching, it could prompt people to try online dating apps hoping to find love. There is, however, a dark side to online dating, and according to a survey by the BBC, 33% of people aged between 18 to 35 have either experienced harassment or abuse from someone that they’ve met onlin

In this blogpost, Dr Ksenia Bakina discusses the CPWO response to a consultation with the UK College of Policing about the creation of a set of guidance to assist in how data driven technologies (DDT) and data ethics are used in the policing context.

News item White Ribbon UK secures OSC funding for project to prevent violence against women and girls.

This testimonial blogpost is by Dr. Julia Nuño de la Rosa, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).

I recently completed a fruitful academic fellowship from July 10th to 30th, 2024. During this period, I engaged in various research activities and collaborations with the Centre for Protection of Women Online, significantly contributing to my field and gaining valuable experiences.

Introducing The Open University's newly created Centre for Protecting Women Online. This news piece introduces the newly created Centre with an overview of the Centres plans for the future.