Domestic abuse and sexual violence against women and girls has soared to 'epidemic' levels, Yvette Cooper warns

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 14:36 EDT, 28 September 2026 | Updated: 14:40 EDT, 28 September 2026 Domestic abuse and sexual violence against women and girls has soared to 'epidemic' levels, Yvette Cooper has warned.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.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.Official figures indicate that sexual and domestic violence affect millions of people in Britain, with women disproportionately harmed.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.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.'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. Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, pictured in blue blazer.'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.'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.'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.However, sexual violence remains hugely under-reported, with only a tiny proportion of victims of rape or assault by penetration telling police.Crimes are most likely to be perpetrated by women's partners, former partners and other known people.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.'Tragically, it is not uncommon for female patients to experience long-term abuse that causes serious symptoms, including suicidal ideation or symptoms of 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.'