The Queen’s work on Violence Against Women

The Queen’s (then The Duchess of Cornwall) message to mark the UN Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 2020:

Each one of us has a part to play, to do everything in our power to raise awareness, to ‘reach in’ to others, and to support, and be inspired by, those very brave survivors.

Rape and Sexual Abuse

The Queen has worked to highlight organisations supporting victims of Rape and Sexual Assault for over ten years, undertaking numerous visits to learn more about the issues, meet survivors, and highlight the invaluable contribution made by the people and organisations working in this area.

Queen Camilla. Photo: Getty Images

The Wash Bags project was started by Her Majesty in 2013 to provide survivors of sexual assault with toiletries to use following a forensic examination.

In 2024, The Wash Bags project was relaunched this year…

Rapists are not born, they are constructed. And it takes an entire community – male and female – to dismantle the lies, words and actions that foster a culture in which sexual assault is seen as normal, and in which it shames the victim.

Domestic Violence

For several years, The Queen has also highlighted the work of domestic abuse charities and the work they do to support victims and survivors, both in the UK and overseas, with the aim of breaking the taboo around the subject.

Internationally, The Queen has attended roundtable discussions on domestic abuse – in Australia in 2015 and as part of the Women’s Forum at CHOGM in London in 2018. In 2019, Her Majesty (as The Duchess of Cornwall) joined a discussion on domestic violence at the Headquarters of Shine in New Zealand – a charity dedicated to making homes violence free. royal.uk