Approved work: Violence Against Women and Girls in schools and among children and young people

Violence against women and girls, including sexual harassment, coercion, and abuse is recognised as a public health crisis and human rights issue. The UK government aims to half VAWG within a decade. This topic intersects with several previous and current government priorities and strategies, including reform to education and mental health legislation, implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023, reducing youth violence, and the review of the existing Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy ahead of its update.  

This POSTnote will collate research evaluating existing interventions, including whole-school approaches, consent education, teacher training, peer-led programs, and safeguarding protocols. It will identify existing challenges and barriers to effective implementation amongst school-aged populations with national and international examples. 

This POSTnote focuses on understanding and safeguarding school-aged girls from gender-based violence in schools, care homes, justice settings, and online spaces. It does not cover evidence relating to forced marriages, trafficking, exploitation, child labour or FGM. 

Work will begin in May, with publication expected in August 2025. 

We welcome information on issues relevant to the project. Please note that we are only able to consider contributions directly related to research evidence on violence against young women and girls/gender-based violence among children and young people. 

To contribute to this research, please follow our guidance for contributors.