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Health Secretary Yvette Cooper warns that domestic abuse and sexual violence against women and girls have reached "epidemic" levels, calling for the NHS to play a greater role in addressing these issues. Speaking at a Labour Party conference fringe event in Liverpool, she emphasized treating such violence as health matters and pledged to outline further steps through her department. Official statistics from the Crime Survey for England and Wales indicate that 739,000 women experienced sexual assault and 2.2 million suffered domestic abuse within a year, though many cases remain unreported.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-28,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Yvette Cooper, the UK's Health Secretary, warned at a Labour Party conference fringe event in Liverpool that domestic abuse and sexual violence against women and girls have reached epidemic levels. With 2.2 million women affected last year alone, she emphasized treating these issues as health matters rather than just criminal justice ones. During her keynote speech on Wednesday, Cooper announced plans to task the NHS with helping victims by adopting a public health approach to tackling such abuse. The government aims to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, and part of this effort includes allocating £15 million for victim support services across England. Additionally, she unveiled the "Steps to Safety" scheme enabling GPs to refer domestic abuse victims to specialist services. Cooper highlighted her previous roles in government where she championed similar initiatives, stressing the importance of a cross-government approach to ensure everyone can live free from fear.
Written for “Domestic Abuse Epidemic” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source
Domestic abuse and sexual violence against women and girls has soared to 'epidemic' levels, Yvette Cooper has warned.
asserted
Cooper → see → levels
The health secretary told a fringe event at the Labour Party conference that more must be done to tackle the issue with the impact treated as a health matter.
asserted
impact → tell → matter
She is expected to set out how she plans to make it a personal priority and task the NHS with helping victims when she delivers her keynote speech to the conference in Liverpool on Wednesday.
asserted
she → expect → Wednesday
Official figures indicate that sexual and domestic violence affect millions of people in Britain, with women disproportionately harmed.
asserted
women → indicate → Britain
The government published its Freedom from Violence and Abuse strategy last December, with the aim of halving violence against women and girls within a decade.
asserted
government → publish → decade
Speaking at the PLMR Women's Health Reception, Ms Cooper said: 'I'm keen for us to do more around the impact of domestic abuse, of sexual violence, and that those should be seen as health issues.
'And I am here this year as health secretary, last year as foreign secretary, the year before as home secretary.
asserted
I → speak → secretary
'Different jobs, same values, because in each of those jobs, I have highlighted how much we need to do to tackle violence against women and girls.
asserted
we → highlight → women
Whether that was the reforms we made around the criminal justice system and policing while I was Home Secretary, and establishing the mission as a cross-government mission, whether it was the work we were doing in the Foreign Office to highlight sexual abuse in conflict, particularly in Sudan, by building a new coalition to work on violence against women and girls internationally, and now in the health department.
asserted
we → make → department
On Wednesday, as part of my speech, I'll be setting out our next steps around how we do our part through the NHS and through public health and through the whole way in which we respond to health to make sure that we are also treating this as the epidemic that it really is.'
asserted
it → set → epidemic
The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates that 739,000 women experienced sexual assault in a year and 2.2 million experienced domestic abuse.
asserted
million → estimate → abuse
However, sexual violence remains hugely under-reported, with only a tiny proportion of victims of rape or assault by penetration telling police.
asserted
proportion → remain → police
Crimes are most likely to be perpetrated by women's partners, former partners and other known people.
asserted
Crimes → perpetrate → partners
Professor Subodh Dave, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, told the Daily Mail: 'We have long been aware of the serious harm that violence and abuse can do to women and girls' mental health.
asserted
violence → tell → health
'Tragically, it is not uncommon for female patients to experience long-term abuse that causes serious symptoms, including suicidal ideation or symptoms of psychosis.
asserted
that → experience → psychosis
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has warned for many years that violence and abuse are driving mental illness in women and girls and so we are pleased to hear the Secretary of State is making a commitment to do more in addressing the impacts and look forward to hearing more when she addresses conference later this week, and working with her to make this a reality.'
asserted
this → warn → her
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