A Safer Future for Women and Girls: Victim Care
Part 7
Part 7
Victim care is a central part of the UK’s VAWG response. New approaches focus on empathy for victims, consistent safeguarding and technology-driven support, ensuring victims can access help quickly and safely. These changes put wellbeing first and set a new standard for protection.
City University of London conducted an 18-month survey of experiences of rape and sexual assault victims as part of Operation Soteria. They found that the way police treated survivors had a profound impact on their well-being. Of the 2,858 survivors surveyed, 73% reported a decline in their mental health as a direct result of police action, or inaction in their case. 58% reported a loss of trust in police, and many disclosed that they suffered PTSD because of their experience with the police50.
Independent victim support was found to significantly improve survivor experiences, with those lacking access reporting substantially poorer police interactions.
Many forces are piloting the use of virtual reality (VR) training to improve the response to domestic abuse victims.
West Midlands Police have partnered with training provider Calico to deliver interactive simulations to place them in the position of a woman in various threatening scenarios, such as walking through a dark city center53. In another example, a project funded by the PCC for Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland delivered a VR film “Through the Eyes of Another” as a training product for the judiciary across the North East. In the film, viewers are guided by an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor, as a survivor experiences domestic abuse from early moments, to navigating the family justice system53.
Operation Provide was a pilot trialled during the COVID-19 pandemic to reach victims of domestic abuse who were confined with their abusers, aiming to maximise positive victim outcomes and reduce the risk of repeat victimisation51. Working with the NHS and the Fylde Coast Women’s Aid, the Operation embedded trained health domestic violence advocates alongside operational police officers to domestic abuse incidents.
An academic evaluation of the operation was conducted by Liverpool John Moores University and showed promising findings. Of the 493 Op Provide attendees, 67% engaged with safeguarding advice, and 41% engaged with criminal investigations.
50. Hohl, K., Pullerits, M., Molisso, S., & Reid, A., Operation Soteria Survey Report II with Correction, 2024, https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/34004/
8/2024%20Op%20Soteria%20Survey%20Report%20II%20with%20correction%20131124.pdf.
51. College of Policing, Operation Provide – Lancashire Constabulary, 2022, https://www.college.police.uk/support-forces/practices/
operation-provide-lancashire-constabulary.
52. BBC News, Police VR Training Helps Fight Crimes Against Women, 2025, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2nzqy5eddo
53. Cleveland Police & Crime Commissioner, VR Resource Will Give Judges a New Perspective on the Impact of Domestic Abuse, 2025, https://www.cleveland.pcc.police.uk/news/vr-resource-will-
give-judges-a-new-perspective-on-the-impact-of-domestic-abuse/.
