Starmer vows to 'halve violence against women' at meeting with victims' families

07 December 2023 , 09:53

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Keir Starmer held a meeting with Killed Women to discuss its shock new report into widespread failures of the criminal justice system

Keir Starmer had an emotional meeting with the families of female murder victims on Wednesday as part of his pledge to halve violence against women if he becomes Prime Minister. The Labour leader met with members of Killed Women, a campaigning organisation led by families of those murdered by men, to discuss its shock new report into widespread failures of the criminal justice system.

The group had surveyed more than 100 relatives and found that there was inaction in terms of prevention and increasing sentencing lengths for such murders, plus a serious lack of aftercare for grieving families. Some of the shocking stats include that 90 percent felt let down by prison sentence lengths, and 67 percent felt their loved one’s death was preventable with 78% of respondents known to at least one service due to a history of abuse.

Keir Starmer said "So much more needs to be done to drive change and reduce violence against women and girls."

The meeting was attended by Starmer and activists including Nour Norris, Layla Coe, Julie Devey and Zeb Devey Waterhouse, who have all lost loved ones. Julie’s daughter Poppy Devey Waterhouse was killed at 24, when she was stabbed by a jealous boyfriend 49 times. Julie explained: "This report tells us what many of us knew in our hearts: the deaths and injustices our daughters, mothers, sisters, aunties and loved ones have faced are not unavoidable tragedies."

The group told their stories to the Labour leader and talked about subjects including how organisations need to link up better to stop abuse as well as that domestic murders should be a minimum of 25 years, which is true of knife crime outside the home. “They had a group of us with many different asks,” said Julie. “He [Starmer] was aware of many things because he used to work in this area, and said that, unfortunately, the same conversations are happening now. And I know Labour is trying to make it a priority to cut these deaths down by 50% in the violence against women and girls arena.”

Keir Starmer told the Mirror: “The Killed Women network have utterly heart-breaking stories to tell. Listening to the devastating human impact on their lives, I was struck by their resolve and determination not only to deliver justice for their loved ones, but to eradicate the disease of violence against women and girls in its entirety."

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“Everyone should be able to feel safe on their local streets, in their communities and in their own homes. But after 13 years of Conservatives government, the fact that too many people, and in particular for too many women and girls, fear for their safety is a damning symptom of failure."

"So much more needs to be done to drive change and reduce violence against women and girls. As Chief Prosecutor I saw change delivered, but as Prime Minister I’ll go further. That's why I’ve pledged that my government will halve the levels of violence against women and girls within a decade, as part of our crime mission to make Britain’s streets safe. We’ll work with groups like the Killed Women network on every step of the way to make this a reality.”

Lydia Veljanovski