Tackling violence against women and girls is not just a priority for my government. It is central to who I am.

Before entering politics, when I led the Crown Prosecution Service as director of public prosecutions, I worked with victims of rape, domestic abuse and sexual violence, and I saw, up close, the lifelong damage these crimes cause. And I learned that when systems fail victims, the harm does not end, it deepens.

Justice must begin with listening to victims. They are why I refuse to accept that abuse is inevitable. And they’re why I made halving violence against women and girls a central commitment of this government.

That is an ambitious goal. Having spent the best part of two decades trying to drive up prosecutions, I know the challenges we face.

But let me be clear: this is a national emergency. It requires an immediate and uncompromising response.

And it also requires an honest conversation about the causes of abuse. Because violence does not exist within a vacuum. Our work cannot begin only when violence occurs – it must start much earlier.

That means confronting an uncomfortable truth: misogyny is........

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