The strategy warns that domestic abuse remains widespread across the UK, with survivors often facing repeated trauma, delays in support or being turned away altogether. Many, particularly those who are already marginalised due to race, disability, or poverty, are excluded from the help they need.
SafeLives launches new strategy: Find what works. Help make it happen
A bold new strategy outlines reforms to better protect survivors, challenge perpetrators, and prevent abuse before it begins.
Domestic abuse charity SafeLives launches a new strategy calling for urgent, coordinated action to tackle what it describes as a UK wide epidemic.
Domestic abuse is far more common than previously recognised. Since the age of 16, approximately 10.4 million people in England and Wales, which is over one in four adults, have experienced abuse from a partner or family member. In Scotland, 16.5 percent of adults report having experienced at least one incident of partner abuse since turning 16.
Each year, over 75,000 people in the UK are at high and imminent risk of being seriously injured or killed as a result of domestic abuse.
SafeLives says the current response is too often reactive, inconsistent, and inaccessible. The new strategy calls on policymakers, funders, commissioners and practitioners to adopt a whole-system approach that prevents abuse before it begins, rather than simply responding after harm is done.
SafeLives is also urging a shift in mindset, from seeing survivors only as people in crisis, to recognising their strength, expertise and leadership in designing effective solutions.
Ursula, SafeLives PioneerTogether we are now planting the seeds for change, but we aim to grow a forest.
Ellen Miller, SafeLives Chief ExecutiveDomestic abuse is at epidemic levels across the UK. Systems are fragmented and victims are often unsupported. We believe change is possible, starting with a bold, focused strategy.
We cannot end domestic abuse without working together. This strategy is a rallying point, we want to see survivors supported earlier, professionals equipped to respond confidently and respectfully, and those who cause harm held to account in ways that reduce risk and build long-term safety.
SafeLives is inviting partners, funders, professionals and the public to join the movement for lasting, systemic change. Donate, collaborate, train with us, and advocate for a safer future.
The report launch also marks 21 years of impact for SafeLives -over two decades of listening, learning and driving change. In that time, the charity has helped shape the UK’s response to domestic abuse and built deep trust with survivors and professionals across the UK.