Mayor launches new VAWG strategy for London

Source: Greater London Authority, 4 September 2026

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched a new Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy 2026-29, setting out a renewed commitment to making London safer for women and girls through prevention, survivor support and action against perpetrators. The strategy, published by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), is the third VAWG strategy introduced since 2016 and responds to the changing nature of violence against women and girls, including the rise of online and technology-enabled abuse.

The new strategy adopts a whole-system approach focused on three priorities: preventing violence and abuse before it occurs, improving support for victims and survivors, and strengthening efforts to stop perpetrators and hold them accountable. Key commitments include tackling misogynistic attitudes and behaviours, improving safety in public spaces, addressing online harms, and working closely with partners across London to improve outcomes for women and girls.

Alongside the strategy, the Mayor announced more than £37 million of new investment, including a pioneering £15.6 million fund that will support boroughs to work directly with women and girls to redesign and improve public spaces. The fund will help deliver measures such as better lighting, improved surveillance, and safer street and park designs based on the experiences of local women and girls.

The strategy recognises that violence against women and girls disproportionately affects marginalised and minoritised communities and places partnership working across public services, local government, community organisations and the criminal justice system at its core. It reinforces London’s ambition to create a city where every woman and girl can live free from violence, harassment and abuse.