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Sector sustainability: Shared standards

Shared values to apply across the specialist violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector in the UK

These standards aim to align a core set of shared standards across the VAWG sector. Areas of specialist expertise have developed in the sector in the UK. The standards are intended to apply to specialist VAWG services to enable joint commissioning.

The standards were developed on behalf of Imkaan, Rape Crisis England and Wales, Respect, SafeLives and Women’s Aid by the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) at London Metropolitan University.

They are based on 11 overarching principles:

  1. VAWG is ‘gender based’
  2. Intersectional approach
  3. Diversity and equality
  4. Safety
  5. Dignity and respect
  6. Undoing the harms of violence
  7. Integrative pathways between specialised agencies
  8. Prevention
  9. User participation and engagement
  10. Outcomes
  11. Governance and leadership

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