Sir Keir Starmer has insisted his government will “do difficult things” to tackle violence against women and girls following a Sky News report about sexual harassment in the ambulance service.
At his first PMQs in his role as prime minister, Sir Keir was asked by Labour MP Charlotte Nichols how his government plans to tackle the issue.
It comes after Sky News reported how female paramedics have been “hounded” for sexual favours in return for passing training, getting a promotion or simply keeping their jobs.
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Sir Keir said his government will have to do things differently to achieve its target of halving violence against women and girls.
Addressing the PM, Ms Nichols said: “In a week where the National Police Chiefs’ Council have declared violence against women and girls a national emergency, Sky News has today published appalling accounts of sexual harassment and violence against women paramedics.
“Can the prime minister please update the House on progress towards the mission board to finally tackle this scourge in our society?”
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Sir Keir said his government had made “a commitment, a mission to halve violence against women and girls”.
“I know from my own experience dealing with these cases, as a prosecutor and subsequently, just how hard that will be to achieve,” he told the Commons.
“It does mean that we’ll have to deliver in a different way.
“We’ll have to roll up our sleeves and do difficult things that haven’t been done in the past.”
He added that his government has already started work and will update the Commons on its progress soon.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council has said violence against women and girls is a “national emergency”, with an estimated two million women victims of violence by men each year.
It has warned of young men being “radicalised” online by influencers such as Andrew Tate as it demanded technology companies act more quickly to take down extreme material.
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Last year, Sir Keir accused the Conservative government of sitting “on their hands” over tackling violence against women and girls.
He said: “My daughter is now a teenager, I want her and her friends to go through her secondary school years feeling safe.”
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The Labour leader said he wanted his daughter “to grow up in a happy, safe and secure Britain”.
“But the reality is, change is needed,” he added.
NHS England described the allegations featured in the Sky News report as “completely unacceptable”, and stressed that action, including dismissal of staff, would be taken against anyone found “responsible for sexual abuse or harassment”.
All ambulance trusts have signed up to the Sexual Safety Charter which “is rolling out better reporting mechanisms, training and support for staff”, it said.
