the Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy set out a vision to bring the criminal justice system into the 21st century - pulling what he calls three levers: investment, reform and modernisation.

The message is clear:
Delay has become normalised.
Backlog has become embedded.
That era is ending.

The Guardian’s editorial last week lays bare a truth many families have known for years: when women take their own lives in the context of domestic abuse, justice is too often absent.

The statistics are chilling. Suspected suicides following domestic abuse now rival - and may exceed - the number of women killed directly by partners. Yet these deaths are still routinely processed as isolated tragedies, rather than potential outcomes of sustained coercive control.

Behind every number is a family left not only grieving, but fighting.

In 2010, Nina Cresswell reported a violent sexual assault to the police. Within hours, she was told it wasn’t a crime.

A decade later - after years of carrying the weight of that dismissal - she spoke out publicly to protect other women. The man she named sued her for defamation.

He dragged her through a three-year legal battle. And she won.

Fightback is a powerful short film examining how the criminal justice system treats women who have experienced serious, often prolonged abuse.

The film explores cases where women are serving life sentences after acting in circumstances shaped by violence, coercion and fear - yet their experiences are minimised or misunderstood once they enter the courtroom. Context is stripped away, trauma is reframed as intent, and survival is judged through legal frameworks that fail to reflect the reality of abuse.

The Review sets out more than 130 recommendations to address delays and inefficiencies in a system described as being “on the brink of collapse.” Many of these proposals are necessary. But the central message is unavoidable: efficiency measures alone will not repair a system that is structurally failing those it exists to serve.

From a survivor’s perspective, delay is not an abstract operational problem. It is lived in years of uncertainty, repeated adjournments, poor communication, and the constant requirement to keep trauma active while waiting for a process that may never conclude.

This week marks a significant moment in the fight against image-based abuse.

Following months of campaigning by survivors, advocates and organisations including End Violence Against Women Coalition, Not Your Porn, Glamour UK, Professor Clare McGlynn and survivor-campaigner Jodie, a new law has come into force criminalising the creation of non-consensual intimate images - including AI-generated deepfakes.

The Victims’ Code is intended to set out the rights victims can expect throughout the criminal justice process - including access to information, support, participation and respectful treatment. While its foundations are widely seen as important, many people continue to experience gaps in awareness, communication and consistent delivery.

This consultation is an opportunity to help strengthen what exists.

Liv Nervo is known globally as one half of NERVO - a superstar DJ, producer, and songwriter whose career has unfolded on the world’s biggest stages. But behind the confetti cannons, festivals, and flawless public image sits a far more intimate story: one of deception, violated consent, and the long shadow of reproductive coercion.

In a powerful piece shared with the Good Law Project, Liv has spoken publicly after years of being legally gagged - naming her experience for what it was, and reclaiming her voice.

A super-complaint on excessively long police investigations into sexual offences has been formally accepted for investigation. Three national oversight bodies will now examine systemic delays that have left tens of thousands of survivors waiting years for progress - marking an important step towards accountability and reform.

I sat through Edward’s inquest, and I’ve never felt such anger, frustration or sadness listening to police failures set out so starkly. A young man died in suspicious circumstances, and the investigation he deserved simply never happened.

Key evidence lost. Witnesses never interviewed. Conflicting accounts left unchallenged. And, once again, harmful assumptions about sexuality shaping the narrative instead of facts.

The Police Leadership Commission is inviting people across the country to share what matters to them about police leadership - and help shape the future of policing.

Set up by the College of Policing, with the support of the Home Office, the Commission is carrying out a wide-ranging review of police leadership to assess whether it is equipped to meet today’s challenges and public expectations.

In 2025, Open Justice For All changed the law. That sentence matters - but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

Behind the headline achievement sit hundreds of unanswered emails. Proposals rejected. Hostility toward those seeking transparency. And the familiar experience of reform being diluted once it edges closer to power.

Centre for Women’s Justice, Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre, Rape Crisis England & Wales and Bindmans LLP have launched a rare police super-complaint, challenging the scale and harm of excessively long police investigations into sexual offences.

The government has announced a new package of reforms aimed at giving rape victims a fairer, safer experience in court and tackling the rape myths that continue to shape trial outcomes.

The announcement forms part of the government’s Plan for Change to rebuild trust in the system and halve violence against women and girls within a decade.

A new opportunity has been launched for young people aged 18–25 to help shape how the UK understands and discusses the rule of law. The Attorney General’s Office has opened applications for its first Youth Ambassadors Programme (YAP) - a six-month initiative putting young voices at the centre of public legal education.

Youth Ambassadors will co-design a national communications campaign, take part in expert-led workshops, and visit key legal and political institutions while working alongside the Law Officers.

When families lose loved ones to fatal male violence, the least they deserve is justice. Yet for too many Black, minoritised, and migrant (BMM) women - and their families - justice remains out of reach.

On 31 October 2025, Killed Women launched INVISIBLE WOMEN, a groundbreaking campaign to confront systemic racism, neglect, and institutional failure across policing, justice, and support services.

Family-led and survivor-driven, the campaign demands accountability, visibility, and reform. It amplifies the voices of bereaved families who are standing together to say: enough.