Issued by: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Home Office

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to lead UK-convened international coalition to tackle global emergency of violence against women and girls.

• mirroring the UK Government mission to halve VAWG in a decade, the Coalition announced at the Global Partnerships Conference will see countries across the globe share expertise and scale up prevention work

• eight countries have signed up to this new Coalition, driven by the Foreign Secretary

Women and girls across the globe will be better protected from violence and abuse, as the UK spearheads a new international effort to drive progress, to be announced by the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper today at the Global Partnerships Conference in London.

The new coalition brings together eight countries to work together to prevent violence so that women and girls can live free from fear, no matter who or where they are. Member states will drive practical action to prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence, which affects 1 in every 3 women globally, as well as tackling online abuse, which is on the rise around the world.

Founding members are the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Morocco, Spain, Jamaica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Australia.

As the world faces increasing conflict, the International Coalition will also look to strengthen global efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict and other forms of violence in humanitarian crises.

Next year, the UK will convene a major summit on tackling violence against women and girls where countries can set out further commitments and report on progress.

The Government has already pledged the largest crackdown on violence against women and girls in British history, committing to halve these horrific crimes within a decade and introducing lifesaving policies like Raneem’s Law, which has seen domestic abuse specialists embedded in 999 control rooms.

The Foreign Secretary has exported her domestic experience into foreign policy, declaring women and girls a departmental priority at the FCDO and protecting central spending on tackling violence against women and girls in a challenging fiscal context.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, said:

"Violence against women and girls is a global emergency not just a national emergency. We are determined to work across borders to ensure women’s safety is a world wide priority. I visited the Sudanese border in February, and I heard girls speak of rape, abduction and abhorrent sexual violence. I will make sure their voices are heard and fight to end violence for every single one of them – and for the 1 in 3 women globally who will experience sexual or physical abuse in their lifetime.

"I’m delighted to launch this Coalition with countries around the world that share our ambition. Because from the UK, to Brazil, to South Africa and beyond, women deserve to live free from fear of violence. And because there can be no peace, security, or prosperity for any of us until they do."

Through the Coalition, countries will share expertise in tackling the issue and develop national action plans to scale up work to prevent violence, protect women and girls, and hold perpetrators to account.

Yesterday, the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper visited Lewisham Police Station, alongside the UK Safeguarding Minister Natalie Fleet and Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation. They spoke to Met police officers and saw demonstrations of their V100 programme - a pioneering digital risk assessment using counter-terrorism tactics to identify, target and manage the most dangerous VAWG offenders in London.

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls Natalie Fleet said:

"Violence against women and girls is a global emergency and tackling this issue requires more than warm words.

"To create a world where women and girls feel safe from harm, we must build a united, global front and I’m proud to stand alongside international partners today who committed to doing just that.

"But we will not stop there. We will deploy the full power of the UK state to halve violence against women and girls in a decade."

The launch comes alongside the publication of the UK’s new International Strategic Framework on Women and Girls, which sets out how the UK will defend the rights of women and girls across the world, embedding this across diplomacy, trade, security, and development, using UK partnerships and resources to drive progress.

The Framework outlines the UK’s increased ambition to ensure women and girls are placed at the heart of everything we do, and includes a commitment that at least 90% of FCDO bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) will have a focus on gender equality by 2030.

Notes to editors:

• In 2024, the Foreign Secretary (in her previous role as Home Secretary) set out new measures set out to combat violence against women and girls - GOV.UK [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-set-out-to-combat-violence-against-women-and-girls], including the introduction of Raneem’s Law which saw domestic abuse specialists embedded in 999 control rooms.

• Last year, the UK unveiled its national VAWG strategy [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-from-violence-and-abuse-a-cross-government-strategy], setting out how the UK will meet its ambition to halve VAWG in a decade – a commitment made by the Foreign Secretary (in her previous role as Home Secretary).

• In March, the Foreign Secretary made women and girls a departmental priority at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. She also announced that central spending on preventing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI) will be protected at 2025 to 2026 levels.

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