Our mission is to reduce the prevalence, severity and normalisation of violence against women and girls
We will work with local organisations, providers and agencies using new approaches and radical ideas to:
Shift focus from response to prevention
Test out new ways to provoke change
Shift narratives about consent and accountability
What is violence against women and girls?
Violence covers a wide range of crime types and behaviours that are disproportionately experienced by women and perpetrated by men.
Click on the crime types below to find out more about each one:
Why radical change is needed now
Nationally and locally, the scale of violence against women and girls is shocking:
In the UK…
One in eight women in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025 experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking
One average, almost 200 rapes were recorded by the police every day in the year ending June 2025
More than 150 women in England and Wales are killed every year
In Devon and Cornwall…
36,208 domestic abuse, rape, serious sexual offences and stalking offences were recorded in the 12 months to April 2026
The Government has an ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, with an emphasis on prevention and early intervention, relentless pursuit of perpetrators, and support for victims and survivors.
What we want to achieve
Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez has committed £300,000 this financial year to explore radical and innovative ideas to protect women and girls from harm.
A programme of work has developed in collaboration with experts from across Devon and Cornwall. The objectives are:
To improve early identification and intervention
To reduce instances of violence by addressing root causes, harmful attitudes and risk factors
To strengthen multi-agency coordination, data sharing and operational capability within each of the projects and approaches
To increase community confidence and reduce tolerance of harmful behaviours
To lead disruptive approaches to challenge harmful norms
To identify and detail opportunities for systemic change to prevent violence
Click on the sections below to find out more about the Disrupt project:
