Two women killed a week. One in five 999 calls. Families driven from their homes. Lives destroyed by fear. If there was this much violence at football matches, there would be government taskforces, new laws, strong campaigns. Instead, the opposite is happening. Work done over many years under the last Labour government to reduce domestic violence, increase the number of prosecutions and keep more victims safe has been cut and the clock is being turned back.

The impact of domestic abuse is immense. I've talked to a woman who was so afraid of her husband that she locked herself in her children's bedroom each night for months before she found the strength to leave.

Prosecutions and convictions have fallen heavily since the last general election, in 2010. More domestic abuse is being reported to the police. But 13% fewer cases are being sent for prosecution, with a big drop in convictions as a result. Bluntly, that means fewer criminals stopped and more potential victims at risk.

Legal-aid changes have made it harder for victims to take out injunctions against abusers. And there has been no leadership from the home secretary. Theresa May isn't demanding the action we need.

We don't have to accept this cycle of violence and abuse. We need strong leadership and new national standards. Practice by police and councils varies too much. We need a new commissioner – modelled on the children's commissioner – covering violence against women and domestic violence, with the power to ensure standards are raised.

It's not only about criminal justice. Vera Baird, Northumbria's police and crime commissioner, is doing great work in the north-east to get employers to sign up to training and awareness. But why isn't the government promoting this nationally, too?

And why is the government still refusing to do more to prevent abuse among teenagers? It's time we had updated, compulsory sex and relationship education in schools to teach zero-tolerance of violence – to boys and girls. Yet Michael Gove, the education secretary, opposed Labour's amendments to the children and families bill proposing that reform.

Violence within the home has been ignored for too long. Hard-won progress has been too quickly discarded. There should be a national outcry about the scale of domestic violence in Britain – and the lack of government action to address it. It's time to put a stop to hidden violence and abuse.