Government pledges to protect more women from violence

Ahead of International Women's Day, the government has pledged to protect more women from violence and reiterated its commitment to halving violence against women and girls in a decade.

Statistics show that on average, a woman is killed every three days in the UK and for the past 10 years, Jess Phillips has read the names of women suspected of being killed by men on International Women’s Day, provided by the Femicide Census. This year, for the first time, she read them from the front benches as a Home Office Minister.

The data shows that one in five homicides are domestic homicides. In the last ten years, there have been 898 female victims of domestic homicides, 78 per cent of these were killed by a partner or ex-partner. 92 per cent of female homicide victims were killed by a man.

Phillips has pledged that the upcoming violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy, expected to be published in the summer, will include actions specifically addressing the root causes of abuse.

Phillips said: "Today, for the first time from the front benches as a Home Office minister, I have performed the heavy task of reading out the names of women suspected of being killed by a man over the last year, provided by the Femicide Census. The statistics show that a woman is killed in the UK on average every 3 days – a number that is unacceptably high.

"Each had more of their life to live and was unfairly torn away from their loved ones, and each deserves to be recognised.

"The government’s commitment to halving violence against women and girls in a decade is not an abstract goal – it is a top priority. From embedding domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms to launching new domestic abuse protection orders, we are taking action. But the names on today’s list remind us we must do more, and we must do it faster."

Julie Davey, Killed Women Trustee, 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."