Enfield Council has formally backed the Enfield Safer Stronger Communities Board (SSCB) Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2026-30, signalling a commitment to creating a borough where all residents can live free from domestic abuse and violence. The strategy also aims to address online harassment and violence against women and girls by establishing a range of campaigns and awareness programmes focused on online harm, ensuring partner agencies are fully informed about the developments in tech enabled offending, and promoting better knowledge and information around safety planning and safety online.

The Healthy and Safe Communities Scrutiny Panel reviewed the strategy during a meeting on Tuesday, 9th December 2025, and recommended it to the cabinet for approval. The strategy aligns with the Domestic Violence Act 2021, which requires local authorities and partner agencies to support victims of domestic abuse, including children. The Public reports pack provides further details on the review process.

The SSCB Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2026-30 adopts a victim-centred approach, ensuring the voices of victims and survivors are heard and represented. It recognises that preventing and addressing violence against women and girls is everyone's responsibility, and that partner agencies must work together under one recognised and adopted approach. The strategy aims to ensure that the voices of survivors are heard, acted upon, and represented in policy and practice through a series of interventions and embedded policies that offer long-term change for those affected by violence. The Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Group will have responsibility for the strategy and will develop a delivery plan based on the agreed priorities and using the public health tiers. The strategic group will have ownership of the delivery plan and will report annually to the Safer Stronger Communities Board on the progress and impact.

The strategy is based on a three-tiered public health approach:

  • Primary: Preventing violence before it occurs by using data and evidence to identify risk and protective factors and develop programs to lower the risk for current and future generations.
  • Secondary: Responding to the immediate risk of violence by coordinating a response led by specialist services and statutory partners, including housing, health agencies, children and family services, Police, Probation, and other criminal justice agencies.
  • Tertiary: Long term support after experiencing VAWG by co-producing a series of interventions and embedded policies that offer long term change for those affected by violence and future generations, ensuring that the voices of survivors are heard, acted upon and represented in policy and practice.

The vision of the strategy is:

Create a borough where all residents live a life free from domestic abuse and violence against women and girls.

The mission statement is:

Over the next 5 years, partner agencies will work together using a public health approach to prevent violence against women and girls, provide timely and effective support to those affected, challenge harmful attitudes and behaviours, and ensure perpetrators are held accountable, creating a borough where abuse is never tolerated.

The agreed priorities are:

  • Work in partnership to support all victims and survivors no matter where they are in their journey.
  • Understand, prevent, and tackle the root causes of all forms of violence.
  • Responding to the changing nature of how harassment and violence against women and girls is committed.
  • Holding perpetrators to account.

Officers consulted with a wide range of partner agencies, community and voluntary sector organisations, including specialist violence against women and girls' services. A focus group involving survivors of domestic abuse met twice to provide insights into the strategy, its priorities and actions. Solace Women's Aid were thanked for their support.

The Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Group will have responsibility for the strategy and will develop a delivery plan based on the agreed priorities and using the public health tiers. The strategic group will have ownership of the delivery plan and will report annually to the Safer Stronger Communities Board on the progress and impact.

Enfield Council supports the national White Ribbon Campaign, which challenges the attitudes of men, that men are not bystanders and have an active role to play. Enfield Council is White Ribbon accredited and has a White Ribbon Champion, the Director of Public Health, and eight male Ambassadors.