· More than half a million
pounds is being committed to expand the Victim Witness Care Unit
to support around 100 additional cases each year.
· Specialist Violence
Against Women and Girls (VAWG) teams set to be deployed to
Catterick Garrison and HM Naval Base Devonport.
· New measures form part
of action plan to address violence against women
and girls, building on Government's national strategy to
halve VAWG within the next decade.
Specialist teams are being established to prevent
unacceptable behaviour and sexual violence in the Armed Forces,
alongside a significant uplift to victim support.
An investment of more than £500,000 will create five
permanent new posts within the Victim Witness Care Unit (VWCU) at
the Ministry of Defence, increasing its capacity to support
around 100 additional cases each
year.
The VWCU provides independent, trauma-informed support to victims
and witnesses of serious
crime, operating independently from military
chains of command.
The new roles - including victim liaison officers - will enable
the unit to provide sustained support for complex cases, and
enhanced coordination with investigators and prosecutors
throughout the Service Justice System.
This expansion also ensures the unit can continue to deliver
dedicated support to victim-survivors of serious crime as wider
work aims to increase awareness of the support available and
strengthen confidence in accessing it.
Specialist VAWG Taskforce teams are deploying to Catterick
Garrison and HM Naval Base Devonport,
embedding expertise directly within military settings
to identify and address the cultural and behavioural
drivers of sexual violence at source.
With reach also across Yorkshire and the Humber and
the South West respectively, these 12-month deployments
will see civilian experts working alongside service personnel,
assessing root causes and organisational factors contributing to
sexual violence.
The teams will design targeted, evidence-led interventions - from
training and scenario-based workshops to bystander-focused
activity and unit-specific tools. This approach reflects a
deliberate shift from reacting to incidents after they occur
towards preventing harm before it starts. Expansion to further
sites - including RAF Halton and the UK's sovereign bases in
Cyprus - is planned subject to evidence of
impact.
Minister for Veterans and People,
Louise Sandher-Jones MP said:
"Those who serve deserve to work in an environment where they are
safe, supported and valued. This investment strengthens the
support available to victim-survivors of serious crime and puts
specialist prevention teams in place to tackle unacceptable
behaviour before it causes harm.
“With awareness increasing, more people having boosted confidence
in reporting mechanisms, we're taking practical, targeted action
to ensure Defence is a place where people are proud to
serve.”
The VWCU expansion and Taskforce deployments are the latest in
Defence's Raising our Standards interventions to embed
consistently high standards, build trust in leadership and
create a culture where personnel thrive, unacceptable behaviour
is challenged, and every case is acted upon.
This includes the forthcoming Independent Legal Advocacy pilot,
which will provide free, independent legal advice to complainants
of sexual offences within the Service Justice
System.
This complements newly-introduced measures in the Armed Forces
Bill to deliver stronger support to victims of serious and sexual
offences within the Service Justice System, from new protective
orders to take action against those responsible for sexual harm
and strengthened guidance to inform victims' views to prosecutors
on whether they want their case tried in civilian courts or the
military system.
