Violence against women and girls (VAWG)
YEF focuses on preventing gender-based violence that disproportionately affect girls and young women. We are building evidence and improving prevention and early intervention across sectors and community settings.
What VAWG means
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) refers to gender‑based violence that disproportionately affects women and girls, most often carried out by men and boys. It includes domestic abuse, sexual violence, child sexual exploitation, online harms, harassment, stalking, so‑called ‘honour‑based’ abuse and harmful practices. These behaviours often form part of wider patterns of power, control and coercion.
The government has committed to halving VAWG by 2035, using a national measure that tracks domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking.
YEF’s focus on VAWG
Our mission is to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. Within VAWG, we focus on the forms of harm most relevant to young people — both those who experience violence and those demonstrating harmful behaviours and attitudes, including misogyny or harmful norms in relationships.
We are focusing on harms:
- disproportionately used by boys and young men against girls and young women;
- relevant to our core age group of 10–17‑year‑olds, with consideration for young adults where appropriate;
- preventable through evidence‑based prevention, early intervention, and support for young people demonstrating harmful behaviours.
Our work centres on:
- Peer‑on‑peer relationship and sexual violence.
- Primary prevention for all children, including Universal Relationship, Sex and Health Education (RSHE).
- Secondary and tertiary prevention for children at higher risk.
- Contexts of heightened risk online spaces.
- Transitions into adulthood where some forms of VAWG escalate.
Toolkit evidence to support VAWG
The YEF Toolkit brings together the best available research on approaches commonly used in education settings to reduce children’s involvement in violence.
Through the Toolkit, YEF has evidence on relationship violence prevention, bystander awareness, and social and emotional learning. YEF makes several VAWG recommendations, which are underpinned by evidence from the Toolkit, Children, Violence and Vulnerability survey data, surveys of up to 10,000 teachers (via Teacher Tapp), and largescale reviews of education practice across England and Wales.
| Estimated impact | approaches | evidence quality |
|---|---|---|
| Relationship violence prevention lessons and activities | ||
| Bystander interventions to prevent sexual assault |
Explore more approaches on YEF’s Toolkit summarising the best available research evidence on preventing children and young people’s involvement in violence.
Deliver high‑quality relationship violence prevention in all education settings
Evidence shows that lesson‑based dating and relationship violence prevention — which challenges unhealthy attitudes, builds social skills and helps young people recognise early warning signs — can reduce involvement in violence by around 17%.
To drive this, YEF’s Education Systems Guidance recommends piloting and scaling VAWG lead training in secondary schools, colleges and alternative provision. Settings should appoint a trained VAWG lead, access approved training, and deliver at least five relationship violence prevention lessons to pupils aged 14–17.
YEF will develop further recommendations on preventing VAWG, including work on social and emotional learning, harmful norms, and targeted support for children demonstrating harmful behaviours.
Funding and evaluation for VAWG
To help develop this evidence, YEF are funding evaluation and research over the next three years on what works to prevent and respond to VAWG. This includes funding to generate robust evidence on how schools can best deliver universal education on healthy and respectful relationships in state secondary schools, and work to reduce harmful behaviours, to ultimately reduce violence against women and girls.
Changing the system
In summer 2027 we will publish System Guidance that will make policy recommendations, aimed at system leaders and organisations with national influence, which will enable them to deliver evidence-based violence reduction activity.