Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the world needs to wake up to the dramatic scale of the violence affecting women and girls amid spiralling global conflicts
Violence against women and girls is a “global emergency” with one in three women affected by sexual violence and domestic abuse, the Foreign Secretary has said.
Yvette Cooper said the world needs to wake up to the scale of the threat as spiralling conflicts trigger violence and see rape used as a weapon of war. The UK will lead a new coalition of countries to tackle the crisis, including South Africa, Brazil, Morocco, Spain, Jamaica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Australia.
Ms Cooper told the Mirror: “This is not just a national emergency, it’s a global emergency.
“We see countries across the world face similar challenges around sexual violence, around domestic abuse, around stalking, and we need to work together to tackle those serious crimes and threats to women’s safety, because wherever you are in the world, women should have the right to be able to live in freedom from fear.”
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The former Home Secretary added: “One of the things that I have been determined to do is to keep shining the spotlight on the violence against women and girls in the UK, but of course across the world.”
She admitted the UK needs “new and agile” alliances like this amid strain on pacts such as the US-UK special relationship and NATO.
Ms Cooper acknowledged the Government needs to go “further and faster” on tackling the problem at home. Last year, ministers launched the biggest VAWG crackdown in British history after coming to power pledging to halve cases within a decade.
But Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips, who played a key role in the VAWG strategy, quit in last week’s political turmoil, accusing Keir Starmer of dragging his feet on protecting kids. In a scathing resignation letter, Ms Phillips criticised delays in bringing forward laws to stop children sharing naked pictures.
“It’s obviously it’s a real loss from the government,” Ms Cooper said.
“Jess is going to keep championing these issues. She’s right to keep pushing the Government every step of the way for a stronger action, and we have to keep going further and faster on this.”
Ms Cooper met officers at Lewisham Police Station to hear about a pioneering scheme that uses counter-terror tactics to target the most dangerous abusers in London.
The visit came after she delivered a speech warning that the world risks sleepwalking into a food crisis if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
The vital waterway has been effectively shut since the start of the US-Iran war, causing economic chaos around the world. Shipments of vital fertilizers have been held up, impacting farming around the world.
“The global economy is being held hostage,” Ms Cooper said.
“We need to support our energy security and our food security across the globe, so we don’t have all these countries dependent on choke points and dependent on the activities of hostile states.”