'Violence Towards Women And Girls Is National Threat'

POLICE chiefs must treat violence against women and girls as a "national threat", ministers said yesterday.

- Michael Knowles

The Home Office has warned that thugs yet to be convicted will be identified and stopped under new plans.

They will be made to wear GPS tracking tags and barred from going within a certain distance of their victim's home.

One in five killings are linked to domestic abuse, the Home Office said. Around 2.4 million people were abuse victims last year.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman told the Daily Express: "Life can become a tormenting existence where those closest to them become those most feared."

Ms Braverman said that, in declaring violence against women and girls a national threat, police forces will have to treat it on a par with serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse.

Controlling or coercive behaviour will also be put on par with physical violence.