Domestic Abuse: Women

Protecting women in abusive relationships is front of mind when it comes to the Emergency Alerts system. In order to protect those who may have hidden phones, both national tests of the Emergency Alerting capability have been accompanied by a proactive public communications campaign. This raised awareness of the system and recommended that women with hidden phones opt out of receiving Alerts. Once this change has been made in a handset’s settings, it should remain in place meaning no future alerts will be received.

The decision on 14 August was made against a backdrop of unprecedented hot and dry conditions, with 43 active fires and 11 major incidents simultaneously impacting emergency services across the UK. We carefully considered whether an alert was appropriate, weighing the significant disruption it would cause against the potential to mitigate the mounting pressure on our fire and rescue services and the risk to people’s lives.

The government is committed to learning from this experience and we are currently reviewing the thresholds and operational protocols for future alerts to ensure they remain a proportionate and effective tool for preserving life.