Kemi Badenoch’s shadow women and equalities minister has hit back at Labour over claims the Tories are “weaponising” violence against women and girls (VAWG) for “political point scoring”, describing how her ideas around immigration and women’s safety have been shaped by her humanitarian work in Kosovo.

Speaking toahead of this week’s Tory conference in Birmingham, Joy Morrissey, who shadows Bridget Phillipson on the women and equalities brief, was unapologetic about linking the issues of VAWG with the immigration crisis.

When she spoke to , Ms Phillipson, who is also chair of the Labour Party, hit out at both the Tories and Reform on the way they often only address the issue of violence against women in the context of the immigration row, accusing them of failing to take the wider issue seriously.

But, firing back at the Labour minister, Ms Morrissey said: “I think Bridget Phillipson is taking her job as chair of the Labour Party maybe more seriously – or more sort of prominently – this week than she was taking her role as minister for women and equalities.”

After her interview with, Ms Phillipson turned down an invitation from Ms Morrissey to meet women in the Oxfordshire village of Piddington who wrote to her concerned about more than 1,000 male asylum seekers being housed in a nearby camp. The village voted for independence from the UK over the issue as an act of protest.

The shadow minister has now told she believes the issue “absolutely has to do with asylum seekers” and claimed that people are being “silenced” over the debate.

“They can't just keep calling all of us racist every time we talk about something that doesn't fit the multicultural agenda,” she said.

“Now they're trying to silence the women at Piddington by using some sort of class warfare against them because they've run out of people to call racist, in my opinion.”

The Home Office said it does not hold usable data on violence against women and girls (VAWG) committed specifically by asylum seekers or illegal migrants.

While Ms Phillipson worked in a centre for domestic abuse before she was an MP, Ms Morrissey helped women who had been victims of rape in the wake of the war in Kosovo when she was aged 18.

“I worked in Kosovo and Albania after the war. I worked with families and young girls, rape victims, and one of the girls was killed right in front of me, it was awful,” she said.

“It was traumatising as an 18-year-old to see that kind of violence right in front of you, but to deal with that on a daily basis.”

She added: “We had the girl who was killed right in front of me. Then, one of the aid workers who I worked with had his legs blown off by landmines. It was very much in your face, and I was just doing a sort of gap year, and having that experience where I saw the little girls be killed right in front of me... and I saw the way that women were treated in certain cultures, and the way that I was treated as a woman.

“When you're there by yourself, you understand you have to eat after a man, you have to walk after a man you can't talk at certain times – you're nothing unless someone is there to vouch for you and to protect you.”

She added: “For me, coming from a Western culture and then going into that sort of full-blown post-war environment was a real shock to the system. But it was a wake up call for me that there's a whole group of women that do need a voice, that do need someone to speak for them – and to not be afraid to speak out.”

Ms Morrissey admits she may have “bias” against men from “certain countries” because of her experience.

“I think I probably react more strongly when I see men from certain countries who, in their countries, treat women like animals. In Afghanistan, a woman has less rights than an animal,” she said.

“I worry about the safety of women and girls because I've been in cultures that don’t treat women there with the same level of respect that they treat women here, and so I do worry. That's maybe a personal bias that I have, but it's because of my personal experience.”

Afghanistan consistently ranks among the top nationalities for asylum seekers arriving in the UK, many of whom have been given sanctuary in Britain through dedicated governmental pathways.

On the wider issue of violence against women and girls, Ms Morrissey said she fears for her teenage daughter’s safety in London.

“I'm talking about this issue because I have a daughter who I don't feel like it's safe for her to go on the streets of London. One third of the rapes reported last year were girls under 18, and the highest level was for age 14. So that's my daughter's age,” she said.

“Selfishly, I'm worried about my daughter. I'm worried about her being safe on the streets of London, safe going out with her friends, and I think it's a very legitimate fear that many mothers and many girls have, and no one's raising it. So that's why I'm raising it.”

With 700 prisoners released early this week on a scheme to deal with overcrowded prisons, Ms Morrissey added: “I didn't hear her (Ms Phillipson) say anything about the early release for prisoners... and that is affecting victims of women of domestic abuse of stalkers, and their perpetrators are coming out early.

“There's a woman in Wales who was on the news today, saying how she's going to leave the country because she's afraid because her husband's getting out on early release.

“So it's all well and good Bridget telling us how much she cares about women and girls, but then not even commenting on the early release, which is really going to affect victims of domestic violence and also of stalking, which is something that actually women are very much affected by. I'm still waiting for her to comment on that.”

Ms Phillipson toldduring a wide-ranging interview that the Tories and Reform UK are “not serious about taking the action that’s needed to protect women”.

“I think the difference between the approach I take and this government takes, and then the Tories and Reform, is that they’re only interested in talking about women’s safety when it relates to immigration or asylum,” she said.

She added: “When was the last time Kemi Badenoch visited a rape crisis centre or women’s refuge? Has Nigel Farage ever shown any interest in visiting a women’s refuge, or is he only interested in talking about violence against women when it allows them to make a political point?

“I mean, that does for me call into question whether they – whether Reform and the Tories – are actually serious about tackling this issue, or whether they just want to make it an issue that is used as a weapon.”