February 2024

Hello and welcome to our February vigil.

We meet on the 1^st Monday of each month to highlight the issue of male violence against women and girls, and to honour the women killed by men.

 

This month we’re delighted to also be supporting Rhi and Michael’s proposal that the path across the Green should have permanent lighting added, to mark the 20th anniversary of Amelie Delagrange's murder, and to make the path safer to use.

In fact, it was investigated 20 years ago when Amelie was tragically murdered on the Green but, at the time, it was rejected. That needs to change… The Council often mentions that they strive to make the Borough safer for Women by improving the street lighting. Surely, they should be improving the lighting of paths for the same reason?

 

Anything and everything must be done to improve Women’s safety and cut the number of VAWG crimes in the Borough. In case we haven’t bored you before, Violence Against Women and Girls is the no. 1 crime in Richmond Borough with more than twice as many reported incidents as the next highest reported crime.

 

Violence against women takes a huge number of different forms and we’re not saying that every instance of “domestic abuse” leads to murder, but on average in the UK, 58% of women killed by men are killed by a current or former partner and only around 10% of women are killed by a stranger.

 

And when women are the victims of violence by men, there are very often patterns of escalation.

I am sure you are all aware of the hideous chemical attack last week on a mother and her two young daughters.

The suspect has been named as 35-year-old Abdul Shokoor Ezedi. In 2018, Ezedi was convicted of one charge of sexual assault and one of exposure. He is believed to be known to the woman and her children, but they haven’t said in what capacity.

 

And please remember that Wayne Couzens was reported for indecently exposing himself just four days before he killed Sarah Everard.

 

I’m not saying that every flasher becomes a murderer, but I am saying that every incident of VAWG needs to be treated very seriously.

 

Only 6 women have been reported as having lost their lives at the hands of a man since we met here last month. I really hope that is the case and is the final number, but I suspect not.

Let’s take a minute to remember them:

1 January 2024: Keotshepile ‘Naso’ Isaacs, 33, was found dead at her home in North Berwick, East Lothian. Her Husband Mompati Dodo Isaacs, 37, is charged with her murder.

3 January 2024: Tia Simmonds, 32, was found dead at a home in Lewisham. Shane Simmonds, 38, has been charged with murder. He is also charged with two counts of rape in relation to a separate woman.

4 January 2024: Maya Bracken, 56, was stabbed to death in her car, near her home in Berkshire. A young man of 18 was hit by a train nearby and died at the scene. Police have linked the incidents and are not looking for anyone else in connection with either death.

5 January 2024: Alison McLaughlin, 53, and her husband Neil McLaughlin, 57, were found dead at a property in Greenock, Inverclyde. Police are treating Alison’s death as murder and her husband’s as non-suspicious. They are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

19 Jan 24: Kanticha Sukpengpanao, 36, was visiting her nieces Jasmin Kuczynska & Natasha Kuczynska when they were stabbed to death. Police are treating their deaths as murder. The girl’s father Bartlomiej Kuczynski, 45, was also found dead. Police are not looking for anyone else.

20 January 2024: Tara Kershaw, 33 was found dead, after being strangled at a property in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Adam Barnard, 40, who was known to her, has been charged with her murder.

 

So please, please feel safe as you make your way home now. But please, please, please feel empowered to report anything that you suspect is domestic abuse amongst your friends and neighbours.

 

Take care and we’ll look forward to seeing back here on Monday 4^th March.  

Thank you for your time this evening.