Women’s Aid responds to Jess Phillips MP reading out the names of women killed by men in Parliament

Ellie Daniel, Head of Policy and Survivor Services at Women’s Aid, comments:  

“Today, for the 11th year, the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, read out the names of the 107 women who were murdered by men over the last year. It is a devastating reality that, in all this time, the number of women killed has not significantly reduced. We know that on average at least one woman a week is killed by a male partner, and each of the lives lost is a mother, a friend, a sister, a colleague, or a daughter – we mourn each of these women and our thoughts are with their families.  

“Change is desperately needed. While some significant steps have been taken – including the publication of the government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, – more must be done. We know from our work with survivors that the most dangerous time for a woman is when she leaves her abuser, yet women are turned away when trying to seek refuge due to a lack of bedspace. If we are to prevent more deaths from happening, then women must have somewhere safe to turn. Investment in specialist services is desperately needed, alongside radical reform of commissioning systems to ensure that vital services can continue to provide life-saving support.