Stepwell Alliance retweeted
A domestic abuser who subjected his former partner to abuse and coercive control had his suspended sentence overturned and increased to a term of 4 years and 3 months’ immediate imprisonment after the Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, intervened.
gov.uk/government/news/domes…
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
The National Centre for Violence Against Women & Girls and Public Protection yesterday published a major new assessment of gender-based violence in the UK.
vkpp.org.uk/assets/STRA-2026…
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
How should AI be governed?
The EU champions safe, secure, sustainable AI that is grounded in human rights and that people can trust.
Tune in as MEPs and the European Commission discuss the path forward for global AI governance ⬇️
xitter.cf/i/broadcasts/1qGoNYAQM…
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
It was good to meet with baroness @theresa_may today to discuss recent developments in the UK's response to modern slavery, including the Immigration and Asylum Bill.
Given her role in shaping much of the UK's modern slavery agenda, it was valuable to discuss current challenges and opportunities to strengthen protections for victims.
#ModernSlavery #HumanTrafficking #VictimProtection #ImmigrationAndAsylumBill
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
20,000 domestic abuse disclosures are made every year to maternity services in England, @forbabyssake has found.
forbabyssake.org.uk/news/202…
#Consent must be given freely and cannot be provided by someone who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
There’s #NoExcuse to violate consent or place blame on anyone whose consent has been violated.
#ForAllWomenAndGirls, it’s time to create a culture of consent.
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
Screen time damages children more than being born into poverty, a study has found.
A review of 2.8 million young people across 64 countries found that digital media use had a bigger impact on development than wealth or parenting ⤵️
telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09…
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
Women and girls should be able to live their lives free from violence and abuse.
But when these crimes happen, we need a justice system that properly supports victims.
So we’re making changes.
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
We welcome the news that the government will be introducing specialist rape and sexual offences courts across England and Wales.
Read our full statement here: ow.ly/bahL50ZPJi1
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
Pregnancy can be terrifying for DA victims, with abuse often escalating.
We know that many midwives can identify DA but don't know how to respond effectively.
That's why midwives must be upskilled to connect victims with DA support, so no appointment is a missed opportunity.
Around 20,000 disclosures of domestic abuse are estimated to be made to maternity services in England every year, according to new analysis by The For Baby's Sake Trust.
This new data, which is not routinely collated and published at a national level, highlights the vital role maternity professionals play in identifying abuse.
It points to an urgent need for standardised data collection, specialist domestic abuse training on the impact of domestic abuse in pregnancy and on babies, and national investment in early interventions to break cycles of domestic abuse and give every baby the best start in life.
Thank you to @guardian for covering these new insights.
Read the full story here: theguardian.com/society/2026…
#BreakTheCycle
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
The Government’s rollout of specialist rape courts is a welcome step I first called for in 2021.
However, with record Crown Court backlogs, these trauma-informed standards must now reach every victim, in every courtroom across the system.
Full statement: victimscommissioner.org.uk/n…
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
Victims are waiting years for justice - delays that deepen their trauma and undermine confidence in the justice system.
In my interview with @ObserverUK, I explain why addressing the courts crisis must be the priority if we are to fix the wider system.
🔗observer.co.uk/news/national…

ALT Graphic featuring a portrait of Claire Waxman, Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales. The graphic includes a quote from an interview with The Observer: “The system is fundamentally broken. We are leaving victims suffering these long waits for justice. We are losing victims and witnesses along the way, which means we don’t bring offenders to justice. That becomes a public safety issue.” Victims’ Commissioner logo displayed in the bottom left corner.
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
Powers to prevent modern slavery are only effective if they are used well.
New @WilberforceHull research finds Slavery and Trafficking Prevention and Risk Orders are not being used to their full potential.
We need better training, data, monitoring and survivor safeguards, all things I call for in my foreword to the report. Without them these orders will remain only partially effective.
Funded through the @SlaveryPEC at the University of Oxford, it forms part of the wider Legal Enforcement of Modern Slavery project, read the full report below.
🔗 antislaverycommissioner.co.u…
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
This started as a prison capacity crisis. As Victims' Commissioner, my concern is it now risks becoming a public safety issue.
Victims will be asking: will I be safe, and can I trust the system to protect me? Government must show it has the grip needed to keep people safe.
43,000 women and girls in #Nepal need immediate humanitarian assistance.
Women and girls must be reached, protected and included in recovery efforts.
See the remarks by @unwomenasia's Regional Director @christinearab: unwo.men/BuQl50ZHGBW
#ForAllWomenAndGirls
The effort to ensure women enjoy human rights on an equal basis with men is ongoing.
Since 1986, the UK has been working to meet its commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Find out more: ow.ly/r0pp50ZFK6s
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
Domestic abuse campaigners are calling for greater use of location tracking technology to monitor high-risk suspects following the murder of a woman in Renfrewshire last month. An online petition is calling for a "Stacy's law" in memory of Stacy Hunter who was killed in her home by her estranged husband while he was on bail.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjdv…
The campaign has been started by Lynne Mackenzie, herself a domestic abuse survivor, who lives a few miles from the isolated cottage where Stacy was killed in July.
Her petition calls for high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators or suspects released on bail to have their location monitored using GPS equipment. This could include individually assessed exclusion zones around victim's homes or workplaces and alerts that trigger police responses when conditions are breached.
You can read and sign her petition 'Stacy’s Law: Scotland’s Domestic Abuse GPS Protection Campaign' here: change.org/p/stacy-s-law-sco…
Lynne Mackenzie is a co-founder of Rise Against Abuse @AgainstAbuseCIC, a not-for-profit group which supports those affected by domestic abuse, but she has started the petition in an individual capacity.
Stacy's family now prefer her to be remembered by her pre-marriage surname Hunter, rather than her husband's name Mair.
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
Someone experiencing modern slavery may not recognise themselves as a victim.
Josefiina Kalliokoski, First Responder at @salvationarmyuk, explains why.
That's why identification can't depend on someone using the words we expect to hear.
Understanding the realities of exploitation matters.
#ModernSlavery #FirstResponders #IASCinConversation
What happens online doesn't stay online.
Harmful online communities can normalize misogyny and fuel attitudes that put women and girls at risk.
Safer digital spaces are essential to #ACTtoEndViolence #ForAllWomenAndGirls.
Read more: unwo.men/Fpob50ZEVlt
@EU_Partnerships
Stepwell Alliance retweeted
People sexually abused as children who seek help in later life for mental health issues are being failed by the NHS, senior doctors have told the BBC.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is issuing a public apology for what it says is decades of mismanagement and misdiagnosis in the UK.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0kl…























