London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

Women will not be silenced on gender violence

Women will not be silenced on gender violence

Campaigners including the actor Maxine Peake, the Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy and the Green party deputy leader Amelia Womack write in support of the aims of the group Women Will Not Be Silenced

We believe that sexist attitudes and contempt for women run through the fabric of society, and we are angered and upset by the fact that every three days a woman is killed by a man in the UK. Women are raped, beaten and murdered by our own partners, husbands, brothers and fathers, as well as by complete strangers. The domestic abuse services we need are being defunded and shut, and the selling of social housing stock means women at risk of violence in the home have no safe alternative long-term accommodation for themselves and their children. Rape is effectively being decriminalised in this country and this is as unacceptable as it is disturbing.

The Metropolitan police use heavy-handed tactics to silence people, as was clearly demonstrated during the Clapham Common vigil on 13 March. We are appalled by the behaviour of the Metropolitan police. As opponents of violence against women, we have a human right to gather to show solidarity and support to one another. It is clear to us that the police cannot be allowed to have absolute power over the right to freedom of association, and we are calling for united opposition to the policing bill because we believe that this will have a detrimental impact on our human rights and civil liberties as women.

Our demands are as follows: investment in domestic abuse services, rape crisis support, the NHS and other vital care and support services for women; investment in social housing for women and children at risk of domestic abuse; and an immediate and urgent inquiry to the unacceptably low conviction rates for rape and the systematic failure of the criminal justice system to provide justice for women.

With regard to policing in the UK, we demand that a full apology is issued by the Metropolitan police for the events on Clapham Common; a full external inquiry is opened into the attitudes and behaviour of the police force towards women; and that the policing bill is dropped and our right to protest is upheld.

Julie Hesmondhalgh Actor, Maxine Peake Actor, Juliet Stevenson Actor, Dr Mary Bousted Joint general secretary, NEU, Diane Abbott MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Zarah Sultana MP, Paula Barker MP, Helena Kennedy QC Labour, House of Lords, Ramona McCartney Women Will Not Be Silenced, Amelia Womack Deputy leader, Green party, Sara Pascoe Comedian, Professor Wendy Savage, Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya, Dr Feyzi Ismail Academic and campaigner, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah Executive director, UK Black Pride, Francesca Martinez Comedian and author, Pritee Varsani Musician, Fran Heathcote President, Public and Commercial Services Union, Jen Brister Comedian, Jennette Arnold Labour London assembly member, Lindsey German Author, Rehana Azam National secretary, GMB Union, Laura Pidcock National secretary, People’s Assembly, Laura Alvarez Campaigner, Ellen Clifford Disabled People Against Cuts, Laura Smith Labour councillor, Karen Reissman National Executive Unison member (PC), Mira Salat Director, Mira Performing Arts, Grace Blakely Economist and author, Amy Jackson Head of politics, Unite the Union, Hilary Wainwright Editor, Red Pepper Magazine, Katie Barlow Filmmaker, Katherine Connelly Historian and biographer of Sylvia Pankhurst, Kiri Tunks Women’s rights activist, Lynn Henderson National officer, PCS Scotland, Jess Edwards National executive member, NEU, Poonam Ball Marketing director and creative chef, Madhu, Emma Mort National executive member, NEU, Louise Regan National officer, NEU, Karen Ingala Smith CEO, nia

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×