The End Violence Against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights Coalition (EVAW) warmly welcomes today’s announcement of a cross-government strategy to tackle all forms of violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights including rape, domestic violence, trafficking and forced marriage. It sees this as a vital step towards the government fulfilling its human rights obligations and ending abuse of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls. All main political parties support a strategy, as does the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

But the Coalition warns that the strategy will only be effective if properly resourced and Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights will judge the strategy in terms of its impact on frontline Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights’s services. Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights consulted for the strategy told the government they not only needed these services, but that, in some instances, they had literally saved their lives.

Professor Liz Kelly, EVAW Chair, said:

“Hundreds of thousands of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights are affected by violence each year and the vast majority do not report to the police or disclose to health services. For too long there has been a fractured approach with key government departments, such as education and health, failing to meet their responsibilities. So we warmly welcome the government’s commitment to a more joined up approach that focuses on stopping violence and abuse of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls before it starts.

However, we know that Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights still face a postcode lottery when seeking support and much funding for existing services, such as rape crisis centres, refuges and services for ethnic minority Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights, is increasingly fragile. Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights across the country will be dismayed if the strategy does not include a coherent plan for secure and sustainable funding for vital frontline Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights’s services”

The EVAW coalition says the strategy must;

• Join up policies and services across government at national and local levels, including on health, education and immigration.

• Stop violence and abuse of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights in the first place through campaigns to change attitudes and work with young people in schools, rather than just picking up the pieces afterwards through the courts and criminal justice system.

• Guarantee adequate resources to deliver the strategy, particularly
funding for frontline Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights’s services that support victims, such as
refuges, rape crisis centres and services for ethnic minority Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights, many of which are threatened with closure.

• Find out more about Amnesty's work on the issue of no recourse to public funds
• Visit the End Violence Against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights's blog /li>