100+ women’s rights groups warn against racist weaponisation of VAWG

The End Violence Against Women Coalition is one of more than 100 women’s rights groups that have today (19th August 2025) written a joint letter to the Prime Minister calling for urgent action against the weaponisation of violence against women and girls by far-right groups and mainstream politicians to further a racist, anti-migrant agenda.

Co-ordinated by the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Women for Refugee Women, Hibiscus and Southall Black Sisters, the statement is supported by expert organisations including Imkaan, Latin American Women’s Rights Service, Rape Crisis England & Wales, Refuge and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

The statement was also signed “in solidarity” by 98 groups including unions, refugee and migrant support groups and universities.

It says:

In the last weeks, we have seen how vital conversations about violence against women and girls (VAWG) are being hijacked by an anti-migrant agenda that fuels division, harms survivors and ultimately impedes the real work of tackling the root causes of society-wide violence, to the detriment of women and girls. We write as organisations on the frontlines of combatting VAWG to urge the Government to address this dangerous narrative. 

We condemn all acts of violence against women and girls and the immense harm which such acts cause to individuals and communities. The facts about violence against women and girls in the UK are stark:

• Almost one in three women will experience domestic abuse, and sexual offences are at the highest level recorded.

• One woman every four days in the UK is murdered by a partner or ex-partner.

• More than 90% of perpetrators of rape and sexual assault are known to their victims. 

• One in two rapes against women are carried out by a partner or ex-partner. 

• One in three adult survivors of rape experience it in their own home.

• Women who can’t access public funds, such as welfare support or housing assistance – due to No Recourse to Public Funds conditions –  are three times more likely to experience VAWG.

We have been alarmed in recent weeks by an increase in unfounded claims made by people in power, and repeated in the media, that hold particular groups as primarily responsible for sexual violence. This not only undermines genuine concerns about women’s safety but also reinforces the damaging myth that the greatest risk of gender-based violence comes from strangers. 

Every act of VAWG is a form of injustice. It is an injustice that violence against women and girls is carried out in our workplaces, in our schools, in our streets and most commonly, in our homes. It is an uncomfortable reality that it is committed in every economic group, ethnicity, age and social group, and overwhelmingly by the men who are in women and girls’ lives. VAWG is also perpetrated by people who move to the UK, but the racist idea that this is solely an imported problem flies in the face of women and girls’ daily experiences in the UK.

These horrifying facts must be addressed with sustainable investment in prevention and support services, and by removing state-imposed barriers to support for survivors. Instead, the issue is being hijacked by people seeking to use women and girls’ pain and trauma – and the threat of it – for political gain.

Over recent weeks, people claiming to care about the “safety of women and children” have left families, women and children living in temporary asylum accommodation afraid to leave their front door. They follow in the footsteps of the rioters who used the appalling murder of three young girls as an excuse to bring violence to our streets; with targeted attacks against migrant, minoritised and Muslim communities. That two out of five of those arrested for that disorder themselves had police histories of domestic abuse illustrates not only the pervasiveness of gender-based violence but the disingenuous nature of many of those who claim to have the interests of women and children at heart. Meanwhile, members of Parliament freely share false statistics about the nationality of perpetrators. Government ministers have even endorsed some of this summer’s demonstrators as having ‘legitimate’ concerns, which risks normalising and enabling the spreading of racist narratives by the far-right.

Not only do these falsehoods fail to keep women safe, they serve as a racist distraction that actively impedes the urgent work of addressing gender-based violence. Myths and misconceptions about sexual violence act as a barrier to justice for survivors. Spreading an inaccurate picture of VAWG in the UK allows the people – overwhelmingly men, from all walks of life – who harm women and girls to hide behind racial stereotypes and scapegoating. Meanwhile, hostile immigration policies propped up by this misinformation put many of the most marginalised women and survivors in the UK – racialised, migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women – at even greater risk of harm, destitution, homelessness, exploitation and criminalisation.

The government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls. This is a challenging but achievable ambition, but it cannot be done while lies about its causes are endorsed by those in the highest positions of power – Parliament and the media – and allowed to spread unchecked. 

We urge the Government to show leadership in responding to the weaponisation of VAWG, including changing its framing of migration, promoting an accurate picture of violence against women and girls, and holding those who spread misinformation to account. We cannot afford for this agenda to drive further attacks on migrant communities or harm efforts to develop a coherent, effective strategy to address the real causes of gender-based violence. All women and girls deserve for us to face and confront the reality of VAWG, so that we can pave the way in ending it.

Andrea Simon, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said:

“The far-right has long exploited the cause of ending violence against women and girls to promote a racist, white supremacist agenda. These attacks against migrant and racialised communities are appalling and do nothing to improve women and girls’ autonomy, rights and freedoms. What’s more, they ignore the reality that most violence against women and girls is perpetrated by someone known to them. 

The fight to end gender-based violence and uphold migrant rights are connected, as they rely on a world in which everyone’s human rights are respected. Political leaders must change course and play a positive role in working to build a better world for all.”

Dr. Baljit Banga, CEO of Hibiscus, said:

“Violence against women and girls is a social issue that requires urgent government action. The far right’s weaponisation of VAWG undermines efforts to safeguard victims and survivors. Moreover, targeting Black, minoritised, and migrant communities by distorting public debate and misinterpreting data only serves to exacerbate racial and social inequalities, to the detriment of women experiencing VAWG. 

This joint statement urges decision-makers to reject divisive rhetoric and adopt an intersectional human rights approach to ending violence against women and girls. We refuse to let women’s safety be turned into hate speech.

Andrea Vukovic, Co-Director of Women for Refugee Women, said:

“The growing anti-migrant agenda pushed by those claiming to act for the safety of women does not protect women – it frightens them. In recent weeks, the women we support, who have fled war and persecution in search of safety, have been too afraid to leave their homes due to attacks on migrant and racialised communities.

Unfounded claims that blame particular groups for sexual violence fuel division, while reinforcing the dangerous myth that gender-based violence comes from strangers. This narrative silences the lived reality of women and girls, who are most often harmed by men they know. If the Government is serious about its pledge to halve violence against women and girls, it must crack down on misinformation and tackle the root causes of gender-based violence.”

Selma Taha, Executive Director of Southall Black Sisters said:

“Violence against women and girls (VAWG) demands an urgent, system-wide response that removes barriers to safety and secures long-term investment in specialist support services. Attempts to weaponize VAWG through racist scapegoating of migrants not only distract from real solutions, but also deepen the marginalisation of Black, minoritised and migrant victim-survivors.

The government, our public institutions, and the media must take responsibility for shaping an accurate, evidence-based narrative on immigration, and must end the normalisation of far-right misinformation in debates on immigration and VAWG. 

As frontline organisations working to end VAWG, we stand united in saying: Not in Our Name.”

ENDS

Media contact

Sinéad Geoghegan, Head of Communications, media@evaw.org.uk 07960 744 502