Ed Miliband has signalled Labour's commitment to tackling domestic violence and related issues by appointing a shadow minister for preventing violence against women and girls.

Seema Malhotra is the first MP from any party to hold this title, and it is understood that, if Labour wins the general election, there will be a Home Office minister for preventing violence against women and girls.

Malhotra, a former management consultant and founder of the Fabian Women's Network who was elected MP for Feltham and Heston in 2011, said there was a real need for the government to take this issue more seriously.

"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," 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.

"I will be looking to change this and look forward to working with Ed and Yvette [Cooper, the shadow home secretary] to make sure a Labour government offers a real alternative to women and children trapped in cycles of violence." 

Malhotra will be responsible for championing the needs of victims of rape, domestic and sexual violence, as well as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, trafficking and prostitution.

Labour said that 89% of the victims of prolonged domestic abuse are women, that an estimated 85,000 women were raped last year, and that 20% of women have been victims of a sexual offence since the age of 16.

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."

The government has published its own strategy for ending violence against women and girls, but there is not a minister in the Home Office focusing solely on this issue. Instead it is one of many items in the portfolio of Norman Baker, the Lib Dem minister of state for crime prevention.

The vacancy in Labour's home affairs team was created when Helen Jones stood down as a shadow minister in July. She said she wanted to leave the front bench because she wanted more freedom to speak out on constituency issues.