Commons falls silent as Jess Phillips reads list of women killed in last year

Zara Aleena, Elle Edwards and Ashley Dale are among the women killed in the UK in the past 12 months whose names have been read out loud in the House of Commons.

Yesterday was International Women’s Day and Jess Phillips commemorated more than 108 dead women where a man was convicted or charged as the main perpetrator.

Her families watched the Birmingham Yardley MP from the gallery as she spoke for more than five minutes.

This has become a tradition for the Labor politician since his election in 2015.

But activists warned that “no lessons will be learned” in dealing with violence against women and girls, telling ministers: “Warm words are no longer enough.”

Zara Aleena, from Ilford, east London, was one of the victims remembered in the Chamber.

The would-be lawyer was attacked and killed by a recently released gunman last June while walking home from a night out with friends.

Ms Phillips said: “I have read hundreds of inquest reports and domestic homicide reports over the years.

“Everyone is pushing for lessons to be learned and telling us next time will be different. It never is.

“This week alone I spoke to a woman whose abuser showed up at her home on bail after attempting to attack her with a gun. A call to the police left her waiting seven days for an answer.

“Femicide is not currently mentioned in the domestic abuse strategy. It’s not OK.

“I urge the government to hurry and open the review of the overdue domestic killings conviction.

“There is no reason why we are still waiting. All of these women died within the time we were promised this review.’

She added, “We don’t honor these women by reading their names or making any promises that happen in this place, we honor them with actions, not words.”

Ahead of the debate, a mother whose daughter was murdered by her ex-boyfriend said she and her bereaved families would not stop demanding action.

Julie Devey, co-founder of the Killed Women organization, said she feels strong about joining forces with other affected families but questioned what she sees as a lack of action to end the problem.

Their daughter, Poppy Devey Waterhouse, was brutally murdered by her ex after he didn’t come to terms with the end of their three-year relationship.

The group was created in 2022 and consists of a line of bereaved families of women killed by men.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, Visit our news page.