MP reads list of women killed by men in devastating speech in Commons

Member of Parliament Jess Phillips read out the names of women killed by men in the UK in the past 12 months in a devastating speech on Thursday.

It took Phillips, the shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, over four minutes to read out the 117 names of women killed where a man has been convicted or charged as the perpetrator.

Part of the House of Commons debate marking International Women's Day, Phillips said: "Killed women are not vanishingly rare, killed women are common."

The speech felt especially poignant as it came a day after human remains were found in the search for Sarah Everard, who disappeared while walking home in South London. A Metropolitan Police officer, who is a man, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

After reading out the 117 names, Phillips added: "We have all prayed that the name of Sarah Everard would not be on any list.”

Earlier this week, the Labour MP said that women’s advancement in society had been “set back” by the coronavirus pandemic, and would likely lead to more domestic abuse in the future.

On Thursday morning, ahead of the reading, Phillips shared several statistics on Twitter including a 23 per cent drop in rape convictions last year and a 24 per cent fall in the prosecution of domestic abuse by the end of 2019, adding: "We are not tough on crimes against women and children perpetrated by men".

Anyone who requires help or support can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline which is open 24/7 365 days per year on 0808 2000 247 or via their website https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/