Twenty years ago this week, the last Labour government introduced the Sexual Offences Act – a landmark law which led to major changes in the way the police and courts dealt with violence against women and girls.
It was an important step – by 2010, more cases were reaching and being convicted in court, and the number of victims of domestic abuse and sexual offences had fallen by one-third. However, since then progress has been far too slow, and in some areas things have gone backwards.