Shadow minister: Men must be “central” to campaign to end violence against women

Labour’s shadow minister for victims and sentencing Kevin Brennan said that if elected  Labour would “halve violence against women and girls in a decade” at a LabourList fringe event this week.

Brennan said that men should be “absolutely central in this argument”, and that the mission to prevent violence and misogyny should not just be driven by women’s campaigns, but that “everyone is committed to this”.

He was speaking at a LabourList and End Violence Against Women Coalition event at Labour conference, alongside Labour MP and women and equalities select committee member Bell Riberio-Addy,  Women’s Aid Federation of England chief executive officer Farah Nazeer, Latin American Women’s Rights Service director Gisela Valle, and Respect’s head of influence Caroline Bernard. EVAW’s director Andrea Simon chaired.

Brennan said preventing violence against women and girls was “central to what Labour is talking about, central to a lot of what it wants to do in government”. Brennan noted statics revealing that one in four women have been sexually assaulted in England and Wales, and highlighted the horrific 

He also said that making sure people feel safe in their homes and on the street is one of Labour leader Keir Starmer’s central missions for government. “We will use all the levers of government to tackle this… We have to work in a cross-departmental way.”

Riberio-Addy said that government needed “to confront and alter the broader culture of misogyny in our society… One crucial attitude for change is in our education system, women should not be objectified or subjected to misogynistic language”. 

@BellRibeiroAddy starts a @labourlist and @EVAWuk event at #labourconference23 by warning Labour must confront the “culture of misogyny” found not only on the streets but online. #Lab23 #Labconf23 #Liverpool pic.twitter.com/CB5fJDBVLK

— LabourList (@LabourList) October 10, 2023

Valle agreed, saying that the crisis is worsening: “We are facing a very difficult time when Covid and cost of living crisis is exacerbating violence.” Valle called for “a funding reform that recognises the rights of vulnerable communities and allows them to access vital materials”. 

Nazeer recognised that vital services needed to protect women have been “depleted… they are closing down as we speak, due to a lack of fundamental funding”. She argued that these critical services were not expensive, they did not cost billions and yet were being dismantled. “This is a political choice,” Nazeer argued. 

Bernard agreed, calling for more funding “to be put into the system to ensure we have the services we need”. Bernard said that domestic abuse was about “more than just violence… its about mental health, its about drug and alcohol dependency, its about child care and social care”, and that these aspects needed to be considered. 

The panel focussed on the violence against women and girls manifesto, which has gained support from seventy organisations. Nazeer argued that the key to the manifesto was “about investment, its about prevention, its about ensuring there is a cultural context where misogyny is not the dominant force”. 

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