Women’s Safety, Culture and Responsibility
Recent comments by Kemi Badenoch have sparked widespread debate after she suggested that people “from cultures that don’t respect women” should “get out of our country”. The remarks, made in the context of tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), have drawn strong reactions, raising difficult questions about culture, responsibility, and how the UK addresses gender-based violence.
While public concern about women’s safety is valid and urgent, experts and advocates warn that oversimplified or divisive framing risks undermining effective prevention, community trust and safeguarding outcomes.
Why It Matters
Violence against women and girls is a systemic problem that cuts across backgrounds, communities and social groups. Framing it primarily as a cultural or immigration issue can:
stigmatise entire communities
discourage reporting among women who already face barriers
fracture trust between institutions and the people they aim to protect
distract from evidence-based prevention and accountability
Women’s safety improves when responses are inclusive, survivor-centred and focused on behaviour - not identity.
What This Means for Community Safety and Safeguarding
Focus on actions, not origins: safeguarding works best when it targets harmful behaviours, i.e. harassment, abuse, coercion, wherever they occur, and holds perpetrators accountable regardless of background.
Encouraging reporting, not silence: women from minority or migrant communities may already fear repercussions, stigma or disbelief; messaging that feels exclusionary can push concerns further underground.
Joined-up prevention: VAWG prevention requires collaboration across policing, education, transport, workplaces, healthcare and community organisations, not rhetoric that isolates groups from those systems.
Clear standards and consistent enforcement: everyone in the UK should be subject to the same laws, expectations and consequences. Consistency builds trust and confidence in public protection.
Intersectional understanding: women’s experiences of harm are shaped by multiple factors, i.e. gender, race, faith, disability, immigration status. Safeguarding responses must recognise and respond to these realities.
imabi’s View
We believe that women’s safety must be built on inclusion, accountability and practical protection - not division.
Ending violence against women and girls requires:
simple, safe ways to report abuse
clear information and trusted support
local, coordinated action across services
prevention-focused education and early intervention
Through platforms like imabi Travel Guardian, imabi Connect, imabi Inspire and imabi Pro, we help communities and organisations focus on what works: empowering people to speak up, supporting survivors, sharing insight and acting early to reduce harm.
Women’s safety is strengthened when everyone knows the rules, trusts the system, and feels protected by it, regardless of who they are or where they come from.
Source: Sky News, December 2025