Throughout 2025 and already into 2026, we hear the phrase “to protect women and children” thrown around as a defence for all sorts of aggressions.
“We’re protesting immigrants to protect women and children.”
“We’re removing queer literature from shelves to protect women and children.”
It was just last year that the England and Wales police declared an epidemic of violence against women that is only getting worse. And most of this violence against women and children isn’t coming from strangers on the street. It’s coming from the home. From family, friends, colleagues, and partners.
Not only is violence against women in the UK rising, but ethnic minorities, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalised groups are also experiencing increased levels of hate. These groups, scapegoated by our government and being posed by mainstream media as “a threat to women and children.” This encourages (or at least tacitly pretends not to notice) the intimidation, and in some cases the physical assault of individuals based on nothing more than their appearance.
((I mean, if you throw a book hard enough at a facist, will they not bleed? – Editor))
The power of storytelling lies in empathy and perspective taking – in educating. It’s easier to fear and hate something when someone lacks the knowledge about those they feel prejudice towards.
It’s easier to hate a concept than a person with feelings, beliefs, desires, and fears.
When we explore or engage with differing life experiences, we normalise diversity, reduce ignorance, and lower stigma.
Anyone of any background is capable of committing violence, but statistics show that in the UK sexual violence against women is majoritively committed by white men (GOV.UK, 20161). Despite this, politicians and the media frame people of colour and other marginalised groups as the main perpetrators. Hate crimes are at their highest recorded level (Crown Prosecution Service, 20262) and non-violent hate crimes are no longer being investigated by police (Saunders, 20253). White convicts are also likely to receive shorter prison sentences (Ministry of Justice, 20254).
Whilst work is being done in UK prisons to rehabilitate offenders and prevent re-offending, UK Parliament reports that prison education is stretched thin and thus not as effective as it has the potential to be (Justice Committee, 20255). Furthermore, the UK government’s work towards preventing violence against women outside of prisons is lacking, given that “the national conviction rate for domestic abuse cases is woefully low, standing at 4.5%” (Ellis, 20256) and “fewer than 3 in 100” cases of rape are recorded by the police “let alone convicted” (Rape Crisis England and Wales, 20267), it is clear that intervention through education needs to improve outside of the prison system as well.
A problem cannot be fixed until it is acknowledged. Misogyny is rampant in the UK and discrimination is bringing us further from a solution. Education is the first essential step for tackling these issues.
Misinformation surrounding the perpetrators of violence against women has gone on for far too long and does not reflect the reality that women in the UK face.
Statistics show that a woman is killed by a man in the UK every 3 days, with 78% of femicide being committed by a current or ex-partner. 6 in 7 cases of violence against women are committed by people known to the victims (Rape Crisis England and Wales, 2026). Media outlets and governing bodies choose to ignore these figures to create a narrative where sexual assault is committed predominantly by strangers (especially from marginalised groups) and the responsibility of prevention lies in the hands of the victim. This allows authorities to continue to push blame onto the victims of sexual assault rather than the perpertraitors, and therefore avoid having to tackle systemic violence.
These myths are exactly why the narratives of survivors are so important – stories that challenge these falsehoods and put readers in the shoes of women who have experienced violence themselves. This of course includes books written by authors who have experienced, or are educated in the experiences of violence against women. It is through respectful and accurate representation of survivors that we can educate the masses on the reality of this issue.
Books, both fiction and non-fiction, can be an educational source to help combat misinformation and bigotry, but it’s the responsibility of authors and publishers to make sure that they’re well-researched, rather than relying on tired, harmful tropes. Literature is one of the many forms of media that reflect and influence society.
((For folks whose first reaction is to say “but these kinds of people don’t read!” you might be correct, but there’s a whole lot of additional assumptions to unpack with that thought, hm? – Editor))
For example, whilst some incidences of sexual violence do occur in public, committed by strangers, these are the minority of cases, yet book tropes such as “woman walks down dark alley and gets sexually threatened by men, only for love interest to save her” perpetuate the idea that this is how sexual violence presents most commonly. These kinds of stereotypes in media contribute to the self-doubt that victims face when they suffer from sexual violence, becuase if there is a disproportionate portrayal of sexual assault occuring from strangers in books, victims who (much more commonly) experience sexual violence from a partner, a family member, or friend, may doubt whether their assault “counts”. A sleazy comment and a grab of a body part from a drunk partygoer is such commonplace that it often barely registers to a reader that an assault just occurred.
Uninformed tropes in books can unwittingly support misinformation, and diminish the voices of actual survivors, contributing to inefficiency in tackling this problem in the real world. This is why it’s so important for publishers to be held accountable, and for them to work with authors to create books that are founded on respectful research and knowledge when tackling such nuanced topics. The same is true for using this theme for sensationalism or to be edgy/gritty.
((If I read one more ‘rape-as-realism’ excuse in a fantasy novel one more time… – Editor))
We don’t always get it right, but Inspired Quill does its best to publish a wide variety of books that don’t shy away from telling important stories. Here are a handful.
In Blue Tide Rising, protagonist Amy is a woman who endures racial abuse, victim blaming, and bullying from a young age. She grows up feeling isolated and alone, resulting in a state of mind which sexual predators take advantage of. The story, whilst containing great pain, is also a story of resilience. Amy’s journey is that of self-love, realising that the violence she experienced was not her fault, and that she is deserving of real love just as she is. The story also features a narrative that explores male sexual assault victims, which is a topic often underdiscussed.
Sugar and Snails is a story that tackles violence against trans women, through the perspective of 45 year old Diana. In this story, Diana faces hate for being trans throughout her formative years. She is physically and emotionally abused by her parents and other youths throughout her childhood and medically abused via electroshock therapy. This story shows us that violence can come from the home, from those that we are supposed to be able to trust and turn to for protection. It shows that, even as we age, early experiences of violence can create shadows that stretch across the rest of our lives; but it’s never too late to heal those traumas and draw necessary boundaries.
A House of Light and Stone is the story of Defoe (‘Duffy’), an academically gifted 9-year-old. This book gives insight into how child abuse can shape a living environment and a victim’s sense of self. Throughout the novel, we see all the ways that abuse affects Duffy’s development, including self-loathing, people-pleasing, dissociation, and even self-harm. Sexual violence is a threat Duffy and her siblings experience throughout their childhood, from as early as infancy, meaning they are forced to fight to protect each other from a very young age. These acts of sexual violence come from men in the foster system, their mother’s boyfriend, and their brother’s friend. All people who should be “safe”. Fortunately, Duffy encounters teachers and friends that truly care for her and look out for her, granting her brief periods of safety and warmth. As in real life, it’s Duffy’s ‘found family’ that lean in to support her.
Hateful people are weaponising the call to ‘protect women and children’, although their ‘protection’ doesn’t seem to include women of colour, those who are immigrants, disabled, trans… or, frankly, any woman or child at all.
Whilst books cannot stop abuse (because if we’re being honest, the perpetrators often aren’t losing sleep to read one more chapter), they can and do fight the social battle against misinformation and apathy. Authors and publishers are part of the equation to reducing hatred and bigotry, and protecting people via raising awareness for various societal issues.
In times of division and distrust, we need these stories of survivors to encourage empathy and educate.
No publisher or author gets it right 100% of the time, just as no survivor is a monolith whose experience will speak to everyone. But mindfully combating tropes, misinformation and promoting thoughtful self-reflection on these issues is far more important than sitting on the sidelines or – worse – adding to the pool of stereotypes to create more of an uphill battle.
About The Writer: Eros Sames is an author of fiction, non-fiction, and script, with a BA in Creative Writing. They write in a variety of fiction genres, centred around LGBTQ+ characters, but also have a knack for non-fiction that dissects and analyses themes in different forms of media.
BBC News (2025). Avon and Somerset police chief constable speaks on hate crime and flags. BBC News.
Cobham, T. (2025). UK libraries facing growing calls to remove LGBT+ books. The Independent.
Collins, L. (2024). Campaign aims to tackle domestic abuse during Euros. BBC News.
Cuffe, R. and Leigh, S. (2024). Domestic abuse cases rarely convicted, data shows. BBC News.
Gentleman, A. (2025). ‘Go-to trope’: how the far right is exploiting violence against women and girls. the Guardian.
Gupta, T. and Fofana, A. (2025). ‘You don’t have to be white to be English’. BBC News.
Home Office (2025). Government Pledges to Protect More Women from Violence.
Keohan, M. (2025). Backlash after trans books removed from children’s library section. BBC News.
Landi, M. (2025). Social media sites failing to protect girls from harm at every stage, NSPCC says. The Independent.
National Centre for Domestic Violence (2025). Domestic Abuse Statistics UK.
National Police Chief’s Council (2024). Violence Against Women and Girls.
Office for National Statistics (2025a). Developing a combined measure of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking, England and Wales.
Office for National Statistics (2025b). Homicide in England and Wales: year ending March 2024.
Riaz, A. and Mutebi, N. (2025). Violence against women and girls in schools and among children and young people.
Scottish Government (2015). What Works to Reduce Reoffending: A Summary of the Evidence.
UK Parliament (2025). Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution Rates.
Women’s Aid (2025). Domestic abuse, the facts.
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