Ed Miliband has appointed Seema Malhotra to be the party’s first shadow minister tasked with tackling violence against women and girls.
Malhotra’s role will also involve working on Labour‘s women’s safety commission, which will draw up laws to be implemented if Miliband wins the next election.
The Feltham and Heston MP said there was a shocking level of violence against women both in Britain and abroad, and too little was being done to help victims.
She said: “It is significant that Labour has made this issue such a priority and I look forward to working with colleagues to try and make a real difference to women who have experienced huge trauma in their lives.”
As part of the frontbench team of the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, Malhotra will work on issues including sexual violence, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, trafficking and prostitution.
Malhotra said: “The level of violence against women in Britain, and indeed the world, is shocking and too little is being done to prevent these crimes, support the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“I will be looking to change this and look forward to working with Ed and Yvette to make sure a Labour government offers a real alternative to women and children trapped in cycles of violence.”
Miliband said the appointment was “another indication of the importance a Labour government will place on tackling violence against women and girls”.
He said: “Yvette has rightly put this at the heart of her vision for the Home Office and I look forward to continuing working with her and Seema to ensure a Labour government can make a real difference to the lives of the victims of these terrible crimes.”