I want my sons to know masculinity can be kind – and my daughter to live without fear | David Lammy

Violence against women is a national emergency. As a minister, but also as a father, I see Labour’s new strategy as a matter of the highest priority

David Lammy MP is the deputy prime minister, lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice

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n the year leading up to March 2025, one in eight women in England and Wales had been a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking. Almost 200 rapes are recorded every day. And on average, three women are killed by men in the UK every single week. Just pause and consider that.

There has been plenty of tough talk on violence against women and girls over the past decade – but too little action. We will deploy the full power of the state in the largest crackdown on violence perpetrated against women and girls in British history. This violence is a national emergency. And as a dad to a daughter, it terrifies me. But as a dad to two sons, it drives home that we can’t keep doing things the same way.