Jess Phillips read out the names of 95 women who were killed by men in a harrowing tradition. MPs silently listened as the Safeguarding Minister listed the Killed Women list for International Women’s Day
Jess Phillips reads list of women killed by men in UK in the last year
MPs fell silent as the names of 95 women killed by men, or where the suspect is a man, were listed in the Commons.
The harrowing list – compiled by the Femicide Census – was read by Jess Phillips in a grim annual tradition on International Women’s Day. Ms Phillips told MPs that a woman is killed on average every three days in the UK, and told them: “This cannot be allowed to continue.”
This year’s lists includes four children, the Safeguarding Minister told the Commons. Alarming figures released by the Home Office reveal that in the past decade there have been 898 female victims of domestic homicides. Of these 698 victims – 78% – were killed by a partner or ex-partner.
And 92% of female homicide victims were killed by a man. Relatives of women killed watched on as Ms Phillips – who is leading the Government’s drive to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) – delivered the list.
Ms Phillips told the Commons: “A woman is killed by a man on average every three days in the UK, and that one in five homicides are domestic homicides. We cannot allow this to continue. We must act now and be relentless in chasing the change.“
Scroll down for the heartbreaking list in full
Before reading the list, Ms Phillips said: “We cannot stand and say anymore that lessons will be learned. What I promise is that I will actually learn the lessons.”
Killed Women trustee, Julie Davey said: “Each and every year too many women are murdered by violent men. That has to stop and we welcome the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade and the action it is taking to stem this devastating tide.
“The reading out of the names of killed women has become a sombre but important tradition – and we are pleased to see that duty move to the government front benches where it belongs. We know ministers are focussed on protecting the women we are here to fight for, and delivering justice for those whose loved ones have been cruelly snatched away.
“But this must be just the beginning – we hope government will deliver urgent action to address hidden homicides so that the lives of all women are recognised in the future. We look forward to working with ministers as they work to deliver justice.”
Onjali Raúf, Trustee of Killed Women and niece of Mumtahina Jannat, who was murdered in 2011. said: “Hearing these names each year is deeply soul-destroying. The number of women murdered by violent men each year is persistently too high, begging the question: what is being done by the government and agencies to stop femicide?
“The murder of my aunt by a violent ex husband despite years of pleas for help made to the police and family courts alike, is a daily haunting that will never, ever fade. So whilst we welcome these women’s names being spoken and commemorated by government, we urge those in power to prioritise our calls and move much faster in ending this endemic of violence against women from all walks of life.”
Karen Ingala Smith of Femicide Census said: ‘I am so grateful that Jess Phillips has, amongst all her work to address men’s violence against women and girls, read out in parliament the names of women and girls killed by men, ensuring that this record of femicide, which should be the shame of the country, will be recorded in the parliamentary record in perpetuity.
“Now that the Labour Party are in government, I hope to see this commitment translated in to an ambitious and comprehensive strategy to fulfil their promise to halve men’s violence against women in the next decade. For far too long, sexual and domestic violence and abuse have been accepted as inevitable and even normal. They should be neither. Change is overdue.”
Ms Phillips pointed to measures like Raneem’s Law – which embeds domestic abuse experts in 999 call centres – among steps the new Government is taking. She also said Domestic Abuse Protection Orders and laws to tackle spiking are being introduced.
The Government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. Ms Phillips has pledged that the Government’s VAWG Strategy, expected to be published in the summer, will include actions specifically addressing the root causes of abuse – including underlying behaviours held by some men and boys.
For the first time, each of the 95 women’s names provided by the Femicide Census were displayed in the Home Office’s headquarters in London for staff to view. The department lit up in the colours of green, purple and white at its four main UK sites.
The names read out by Jess Phillips
The list was compiled by the Femicide Census and is a list of women suspected of being killed by men in the past year
- Zhe Wang
- Pauline Sweeney
- Carol Matthews
- Ursula Uhlemann
- Tiffany Render
- Francis Dwyer
- Ruth Baker
- Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche
- Samantha Mickleburgh
- Rachel McDaid
- Lisa Welford
- Karen O’Leary
- Sonia Parker
- Tarnjeet Riaz
- Anita Mukhey
- Bhajan Kaur
- Kathryn Parton
- Emma Finch
- Margaret Parker
- Amie Gray
- Maria Nugara
- Patsy Aust
- Veronica Chinyanga
- Delia Haxworth
- Joanne Ward
- Lauren Evans
- Maxine Clark
- Scarlett Vickers
- Sophie Evans
- Joanne Samak
- Carol Hunt
- Louise Hunt
- Hannah Hunt
- Jenny Sharp
- Alana Odysseos
- Laura Robson
- Kulsuma Akter
- Rebecca Simkin
- Olivia Wood
- Courtney Mitchell
- Nina Denisova
- Alberta Obinim
- Stephanie Marie
- Sophie Watson
- Vicki Thomas
- Eve McIntyre
- Montserrat Martorell
- Cher Maximen
- Brodie MacGregor
- Zanele Sibanda
- Bryonie Gawith and her children, Oscar Birtle and Aubree Birtle
- Davinia Graham
- Barbara Nomakhosi
- Christine Everett-Hickson
- Juliana Prosper and her children, Giselle Prosper and Kyle Prosper
- Rachel Simpson
- Mary Ward
- Luka Bennett-Smith
- Anita Rose
- Mashal Ilyas
- Rhiannon Slye Whyte
- Catherine Flynn
- Sandie Butler
- Rita Felming
- Cheryl McKenna
- Carol James
- Phoenix Spencer-Horn
- Harshita Brella
- Alana Armstrong
- Margaret Cunnigham
- Kristine Sparane
- Margaret Hanson
- Karen Cummings
- Astra Sirapina
- Mariann Borocz
- Gemma Devonish
- Joanne Pearson
- Teohna Grant
- Heather Newton
- June Henty
- Leila Young
- Julie Buckley
- Jamelatu Tsiwah
- Dianne Cleary
- Claire Chick
- Margaret Worby
- Carmen Coulson
- Rita Lambourne
- Meghan Hughes
- Lisa Smith
- Ana Maria Murariu
- Two women from Birmingham whose names have not yet been confirmed
- Two women from Birmingham whose names have not yet been confirmed
- Dora Leese
- Christine Jefferies
