Council aims to prevent domestic abuse while providing “timely and effective support” to anyone affected, reports Leah Renz

Enfield Council has launched a fresh strategy to combat violence against women and girls (VAWG).

It comes after the borough was recently ranked 13th out of 32 London boroughs for rates of domestic abuse.

Presenting the strategy at an equalities board meeting earlier this month Jonathon Toy, the council’s head of community safety, explained that a previous five-year plan had been extended to a decade to “demonstrate […] long-term commitment” to addressing violence against women and girls.

There were 3,446 domestic abuse offences across Enfield in the year to September 2025, an average of nearly ten a day, although this represented a drop of 2.8% on the previous year.

A report containing the latest data was discussed at the equalities board meeting on Monday, 1^st December. Edmonton Green, followed by Ponders End and Carterhatch wards, had the highest rate of domestic abuse in the borough, while Grange Park and Winchmore Hill had the lowest.

The mission statement for the council’s VAWG strategy states that “partner agencies will work together using a public health approach to prevent violence against women and girls, provide timely and effective support to those affected, challenge harmful attitudes and behaviours, and ensure perpetrators are held accountable, creating a borough where abuse is never tolerated”.

In January last year, the council also launched a housing services domestic abuse policy which aimed to provide Enfield residents with safe accommodation away from abuse. The report discussed at this month’s council meeting reveals that, in the past twelve months, the team managed 28 domestic abuse cases – with residents in nine of these cases being re-housed for their safety.

The council’s strategy sits together with current work being done in the borough to combat VAWG and is informed by a “victim-centered approach”, having been created in collaboration with survivors, and it aims to strengthen and support existing work in the borough “under one recognised and adopted approach”, according to the report.

One example mentioned in the council meeting was the council’s partnership with the White Ribbon campaign, a movement which specifically encourages men to challenge harassment when they see it in public. But Conservative board member Andy Milne questioned whether this campaign ran the risk of “demonising a whole half of the population”.

The latest figures for Enfield show that 73% of domestic abuse victims are female, and that 78% of suspects were recorded as male (for the remaining 22%, no sex was recorded).

A council spokesperson said: “The Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy (VAWG) is designed as a partnership that complements and strengthens other work already underway in Enfield and does not sit in isolation. It aligns with key programmes and policies that share the same goal of reducing harm and promoting safety.

“Enfield Council’s Domestic Abuse Policy for council housing residents was developed in collaboration with the community safety team. Its VAWG Strategy provides a wider borough-wide commitment to a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of abuse and ensures that victims and survivors receive timely support.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.