Today, we wrote to Andy Burnham asking what his plans are for tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) once in office, particularly given that his party made an election promise to halve VAWG within a decade if elected.

An important route to eliminating the alarming rates of teenage domestic abuse and other forms of gendered violence is investing in prevention, so we can stop this abuse before it happens. This is especially urgent given that ONS data shows 16–19 year-olds experience the highest rates of domestic abuse of any age group, and in April 2026, the first domestic abuse-related suicide of a child under 18 was recorded.

The Fordingbridge case, in which three teenage boys were convicted of raping two teenage girls, has drawn national attention to peer-on-peer sexual violence among children. This is not an isolated incident: National Police Chiefs' Council data shows that child-on-child abuse now accounts for just over half (52%) of all recorded child sexual abuse and exploitation offences in England and Wales, and that the most common age of both survivors and perpetrators of sexual violence is 11–20 years old.

RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) that ends at 16 fails young people at precisely the age at which this abuse is most prevalent.

Our question to the new Prime Minister is this: will you make RSE mandatory up to age 18 by supporting our new Private Members' Bill?

His answer will show how seriously he takes eliminating violence against women and girls.

He now has a historic opportunity to close this loophole in the law, so that every young person up to the age of 18 receives an education that can potentially save lives.

We will be watching closely to see what he does and update you as soon as we hear back. 

Thank you for standing with us,

Faustine