It is twenty five years since the UN declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women but this is still an area for international concern. Women's rights continue to be violated and they are still subject to violence and abuse in both the private and public spheres. Over the last five years, the UK has instigated major changes in legislation on sexual offences, undertaken reviews of practice within the Crown Prosecution Service and the Police, and piloted a range of new models of service provision - both under the Home Office Crime Reduction Programme (Violence Against Women Initiative) and independently by local government. Designed to improve the response to rape/ sexual domestic violence and abuse in the sex industry, these initiatives, most of which have been independently evaluated, include:

• statute reform
• specialisation in police, prosecutors and courts
• pro-active response and case tracking
• linking civil and criminal law responses to domestic violence
• using screening and early intervention
• piloting forensic nursing
• expanding Sexual Assault Referral Centre model (SARC)
• reviewing of low sentences by Solicitor General
• addressing sexual and physical abuse in the sex industry

Through presentations, workshops and visits to flagship services, we will look at these new approaches and multi-agency partnerships. The event's themes are chosen to foster exchanges of practice, experience and theoretical knowledge and the seminar will be interactive, providing opportunities for exchanges amongst participants as well as contributors. Sharing information on good practice models will be anticipated at this event.

Who should attend this seminar
The seminar will be of interest to those working within both the NGO and state sectors and those who have wider responsibility for service provision and /or policy formation. We aim to bring together people from the public and private sectors interested in engaging in debate and dialogue to address the issue of violence against women and share their experiences and ideas on working towards strategies and solutions.