The biggest ever crackdown on violence against women and girls is promised with all police forces to have dedicated rape and sexual offence investigation teams by 2029. Domestic Abuse Protection Orders will be rolled out so perpetrators will face strict curfews and have to stay out of exclusion zones or face up to five years in prison for breaching restrictions.

Crack police squads are also promised to target online abusers with the “full power of the state” deployed to protect women and girls.

The Violence against Women and Girls strategy will be launched in the coming days and comes amid high concern that while an average of 200 rapes are recorded by police each day, more go unreported.

A lack of specialist knowledge within police forces has resulted, the Government claims, in “predators” being left free to “walk the streets”.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “This Government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency. For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life.

“That’s not good enough. We will halve it in a decade.

“Today we announce a range of measures to bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide.”

Domestic Abuse Protection Orders will cover “all forms of domestic abuse including economic abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour, stalking and ‘honour’-based abuse”. There will be no maximum time limit on the orders so “victims can be provided with protection for as long as they need”.

A network of officers will use “covert and intelligence techniques” to tackle the online threat to women and girls, backed up with nearly £2million in investment. This follows the development of an “undercover network” to combat child sexual abuse which has seen more than 1,700 perpetrators arrested.

The latest action follows a series of measures, including requiring domestic abuse specialists to be present in 999 control rooms. Facial recognition technology is also being used to catch sex offenders.

The new announcements come after the Government has come under pressure for a lack of action.

Ministers have faced criticism over delays to publishing the plan to tackle violence against women and girls (Vawg).

On Tuesday, the chairs of the Home Affairs Committee, Justice Committee and Women and Equalities Committee wrote to ministers, setting out the concerns of Vawg groups, warning the delay is creating “significant uncertainty” across the sector and sending a message Vawg is “not a government priority”.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of shrinking from ‘uncomfortable truths’ (Image: PA)

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, yet Labour has already broken its promises. They pledged to publish a Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy before the summer recess, then delayed it to September and now it’s expected to be next week but that has come far too late.

“We were unapologetic in government about standing up for women: toughening sentences for rapists and stalkers, outlawing upskirting and revenge porn and making violence against women and girls a national policing priority. Labour, by contrast, shrinks from uncomfortable truths, voting against tougher sentences and presiding over falling sex-offender convictions. At every turn, Labour has failed women.”

Andrea Simon, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said: “We welcome the news that specialist rape and sexual offence investigators will be established in every police force. All survivors deserve care, support and sensitivity when they take the courageous step to report what happened to them to the police, and to see their case investigated properly and thoroughly for the greatest chance of accessing justice.

“However, we are concerned that this may not be fully in place until 2029. In the meantime, survivors may often receive an inconsistent response depending on the force area they live in – this is not acceptable. Victims of rape are facing enormous challenges in the criminal justice system, with lengthier delays to their cases than any other crime type. We urge police forces to prioritise implementation of these reforms without delay.”