The government says it is taking action to reduce violence against women and girls and will not wait for a UK-wide strategy.
Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jane Poole-Wilson told the House of Keys that her department had already made progress in several areas.
“We do not have to wait for the UK. We are already making progress, working in partnership with other stakeholders across government and the third sector,” the minister said.
The UK strategy, published in December 2025, covers prevention and early intervention, pursuit of perpetrators, and support for victims.
But Mrs Poole-Wilson said the island had been using domestic abuse protection orders for almost two years, ahead of the UK commitment to roll them out.
Violence
“Violence against women and girls is a central strand within the constabulary’s violence reduction strategy, which was reviewed and updated during 2024,” she said.
The minister also confirmed the island had invested in a state-of-the-art sexual assault referral centre and that the policing plan had included reducing harm caused by violence against women and girls as a key objective for the past four years.
Responding to Jason Moorhouse, the minister said there was no single individual responsible for the work given its cross-cutting nature, but confirmed data on recorded cases was reported annually by the Chief Constable.
She said the Community Safety Partnership’s first annual report would be forthcoming.
“We need to see the data, but then we need to look behind the data and understand more about what more can be done to support people who face this most ease of fight,” she added.
On online abuse, Mrs Poole-Wilson said the constabulary’s school liaison officers attended schools to educate and prevent crime, including offences involving violence against women and girls.
“It is vital that we look more broadly across the community safety partnership, and indeed the responsibility of all of us in this honourable place and wider in society, that we all have a responsibility to tackle and challenge harmful behaviours,” she said.