Violence Against Women And Girls: A Human Rights Crisis
Violence against women and girls is not a side issue. It is a global human rights crisis. It runs through families, communities, schools, online spaces and war zones. At Freedom Charity,
we see every day how this crisis harms children and young people who contact us.
For the girls and young women who reach out, abuse rarely looks like one event. Instead, it appears as a pattern that often starts in childhood. Adults tell them that their bodies belong to others. In many homes, families say their futures have already been decided. If they speak out, they are warned that they will bring shame on everyone they love. When agencies fail to act, that message hardens and many girls come to believe they have no choice.
Violence against women and girls in 2025
Recent reports from the United Nations and the World Health Organisation show that abuse of women and girls remains at shocking levels. Women and girls are hurt in homes, schools, workplaces, refugee camps and online spaces. In many cases, they never report what happens. They are frightened, they expect not to be believed, and some have already been blamed.
At Freedom Charity, we see how this global picture appears in the United Kingdom. Children who face pressure to marry also live with domestic abuse and sexual violence. Families may restrict their movements, friendships and education. Survivors of FGM may later face trafficking or exploitation. In addition, abusers now use online harassment and threats to silence victims and control them. For most children who speak to us, violence against women and girls feels like one long chain, not a single incident.
If adults fail to break that chain, the result can be life long trauma. In the worst cases, it costs lives. Therefore we cannot treat this as a private problem or a cultural issue. It is a human rights crisis and it demands a serious response.
From so called honour to dishonour abuse
For many years, abusive families and communities have used the word “honour” to excuse threats, beatings, forced marriage, FGM and even murder. Too often, institutions copied that language and described these offences as “honour based abuse”. Survivors tell us that this term harms them. It suggests they have done something wrong. It also makes the abuse sound understandable.
Freedom Charity listens to survivors. They are clear. There is nothing honourable about forcing a child into marriage. There is nothing honourable about cutting a girl’s body. In reality, the person who chooses violence brings shame, not the child. Because of this, we use the term dishonour abuse. It reflects the truth and places responsibility on the abuser. The idea came from survivors’ stories and courage, not from theory.
When we talk about violence against women and girls, we always include dishonour abuse. It covers forced marriage, FGM, restrictions on education, surveillance of girls’ movements, threats to relatives and attacks carried out in the name of so-called shame. When professionals recognise dishonour abuse, they can see the full picture and act sooner to protect children.
How abuse of women and girls appears in the UK
Abuse of women and girls looks different in each case. Even so, some patterns repeat across the UK. For example:
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Forced marriage – families tell girls and young women that they must marry someone chosen for them. Some are taken abroad. Others face pressure here in the UK.
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Female genital mutilation (FGM) – adults cut or alter a girl’s genitals for non medical reasons. They often do this in secret and hide it for years.
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Domestic abuse and coercive control – partners or relatives use fear, threats, money and isolation to control a woman or girl.
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Sexual violence and exploitation – including rape within marriage, sexual assault, grooming, trafficking and sexual exploitation.
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Online abuse – people share sexual images without consent, create deepfake images, stalk victims or send threats on social media and messaging apps.
Many girls experience more than one of these harms. A teacher may notice poor attendance. A GP may see unexplained pain. Police may record online threats or harassment. However, each service often sees only a fragment. Without a joined up view, no one spots the pattern. For this reason, Freedom Charity trains schools, health staff, police, social workers and community groups to recognise these risks and respond in a safe and trauma informed way.
What Freedom Charity is doing
Freedom Charity exists so that no child or young person has to face dishonour abuse alone. Our work on violence against women and girls has several strands.
First, we run a confidential helpline, text and email service. Children and young people can reach out if they fear forced marriage, FGM, strict control at home or online abuse. They do not need a formal report. In many cases they start by saying, “I am scared. I need help.”
Second, we deliver school workshops and assemblies. In these sessions we explain forced marriage, FGM, dishonour abuse and healthy relationships in clear, age appropriate language. After this work, pupils often disclose concerns for the first time. Staff also tell us that the training helps them understand what they are seeing.
Third, we train teachers, safeguarding leads, police, health workers and voluntary organisations. During this training we show them how to spot risk, how to ask safe questions and how to act. This includes what to do if they think a girl may be at risk of being taken abroad, subjected to FGM or pushed into marriage during a holiday.
In addition, we offer direct support for survivors. This can include safety planning, advocacy, and help to access legal protection such as court orders. Alongside this, we campaign for better laws, better data and better practice on violence against women and girls, so that survivors do not have to carry the burden alone.
Freedom Charity has helped change the law on forced marriage. We have brought the voices of survivors into Parliament, the media and professional training. Our message is simple. Abuse of women and girls is everyone’s business. Silence allows it to continue.
Ending violence against women and girls: what needs to change
If we accept that violence against women and girls is a human rights crisis, our actions must show it.
Governments and local authorities need to fund specialist services properly. Refuges, counselling, helplines and legal advice cannot run on short term, uncertain grants. When funding disappears, women and girls lose vital lifelines.
Schools also need to treat safeguarding against dishonour abuse, forced marriage and FGM as core work. Safeguarding is not just a policy on a shelf. It is how adults notice risk, ask questions and respond. Children must know that safe adults exist and will act.
Police, prosecutors and courts must recognise the full pattern of abuse. Controlling behaviour, stalking, threats and online harms are serious. They are not minor incidents. When agencies treat them as warnings and act in time, they prevent greater harm.
Finally, we need language and culture that refuse to excuse abuse. That means standing with survivors who reject the word “honour” and choose the term dishonour abuse. It also means challenging victim blaming wherever we hear it. Any shame lies with the abuser, never with the child or woman who speaks out.
How you can help
Everyone can play a part in ending violence against women and girls.
Start by learning the warning signs of dishonour abuse, forced marriage and FGM. Then share Freedom Charity resources with your school, college, workplace or community group. You can also support specialist charities that work directly with survivors through donations, campaigning and word of mouth.
In addition, take online abuse seriously. Believe women and girls who say they are being targeted. Help them report abuse safely and record evidence when it is safe to do so. When you hear harmful myths or excuses, challenge them. Simple actions from friends, colleagues and neighbours can change what happens next.
Violence against women and girls is not inevitable. Decisions, systems and attitudes create the conditions for abuse. Different choices can change those conditions. Freedom Charity will continue to stand with survivors, press for stronger protection and promote the language of dishonour abuse so that responsibility stays where it belongs.
To read Aneeta Prem’s full 2025 analysis of violence against women and girls as a human rights crisis, visit her article on Aneeta.com and share it with others who need to understand why this must be a priority.