Politicians 'are scared' about discussing violence against women and girls

Teaching teenagers about healthy relationships would cost just £20m but government has failed to tackle issue, a panel event heard.

- Anna Davis

IT would cost just £20 million to give every schoolchild access to a healthy relationships programme in Year Nine, a panel event tackling violence against women and girls heard this week.

The spend would be only 0.02 per cent of the Department for Education’s budget, but this has not happened because violence against women and girls is a subject politicians feel “scared” about discussing, experts warned.

Although the scale of the problem can seem overwhelming, change is possible by “starting where you are and doing what you can”, panellists said at an event

organised as part of the Evening Standard’s Show Respect campaign in partnership with The London Community Foundation, which aims to tackle violence against women and girls. Hundreds of people watched online and in person at the Conduit Club in Covent Garden as professionals who work to combat violence spoke about how best to end this “serious problem”.