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During her speech at a conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, Labour's shadow health secretary Jo Cooper announced a public health approach to address domestic abuse, which affected 2.2 million women last year. The plan includes £15 million for victim support services and a "Steps to Safety" scheme allowing GPs to refer victims to specialist services. Additionally, she revived New Labour’s Sure Start initiative, aiming to enhance infant feeding and mental health support through the creation of 1,000 family centers over two years.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-30,
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.
Addressing the conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, Ms Cooper said: “One of the biggest causes of ill health and harm for women, including in pregnancy, isn’t really treated on the NHS, and that is domestic abuse.
asserted
that → address → NHS
“It affected 2.2 million women last year, but we don’t treat violence against girls as the epidemic it really is.
asserted
it → affect → epidemic
“So here’s what will change: for the first time, we will take a public health approach to violence against women and girls.”
asserted
we → ’ → women
The money includes funding for a scheme dubbed “Steps to Safety” that will see GPs able to refer victims of domestic abuse to specialist services, as well as £15 million for victim support services across England.
asserted
GPs → include → England
As home secretary under Sir Keir Starmer, Ms Cooper played a key role in driving Labour’s pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
asserted
Cooper → play → decade
In Liverpool on Wednesday, she said: “When I stood here as home secretary two years ago and said our mission to halve violence against women and girls in 10 years covered the whole of government, I meant it.
asserted
I → say → it
“All of us have a responsibility to ensure everyone can live in freedom from fear.”
asserted
everyone → have → fear
Labour MP Jess Asato, who advises the Department for Health and Social Care on violence against women and girls, said the programme was “ground-breaking”.
asserted
programme → advise → women
She said: “Many survivors I’ve spoken to say they wish someone had asked them about what they were experiencing rather than treating the symptoms instead of the cause of their abuse.
asserted
they → say → abuse
Read More
“This first stage of the rollout will help to train GPs and their staff to recognise the signs of abuse, ask sensitively and provide them with extra specialist support in the community to ensure their patients get a response which helps them to heal.”
asserted
them → read → response
Ms Cooper also used her conference address to announce the revival of New Labour’s Sure Start scheme, which she described as one of the party’s “greatest achievements”.
asserted
she → use → achievements
The plan – dubbed “Sure Start 2.0” by aides – will see parents get enhanced infant feeding and mental health support, help to form strong relationships with their babies along with contact with health visitors and midwives.
asserted
parents → dub → visitors
The Health Secretary said she would expand Sure Start health services into 1,000 family centres over the next two years.
And she announced a new national pension scheme for care workers, saying it was “just wrong that the people who work hardest to help others maintain dignity and respect in old age too often get nothing back for retirement themselves”.
asserted
who → say → retirement
In his own address to the conference on Tuesday, Andy Burnham said he would establish a new National Care Service to provide free social care, funded by changes to the pensions triple lock.
asserted
he → say → lock
Ms Cooper said on Wednesday further details would come with the publication of Baroness Louise Casey’s care review next year, but added there were “foundations that we can start to build now”.
asserted
we → say → that
, the Health Secretary said she would appoint a new champion for unpaid carers and deliver the legally binding fair pay agreement for the sector announced during Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership.
asserted
she → say → premiership
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