Jess Phillips to Read Names of 108 Women Killed by Men in UK Parliament Memorial
Labour MP Jess Phillips will read out the names of all 108 women killed by men in the United Kingdom over the past twelve months during a parliamentary session on Thursday. This solemn annual tradition, now in its eleventh consecutive year, serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing crisis of violence against women. Phillips will require special dispensation to exceed the standard speaking time allotted to MPs in the International Women's Day debate, as the reading of the names is expected to take more than five minutes.
Sons Suspected in Nearly One in Five Femicides, Highest Matricide Rate in 16 Years
Disturbing new data from the Femicide Census project, Counting Dead Women, reveals that sons are suspects in almost one in five killings of UK women in the last year. Among the 108 names to be read, 19 are mothers believed to have been killed by their sons. This represents the highest rate of matricide recorded in the sixteen years the Femicide Census has been collecting data.
Clarrie O'Callaghan, co-founder of the Femicide Census, expressed horror at the growing problem of matricide in the UK. She identified the collapse in mental health care services, problematic substance abuse, and widespread housing insecurity as key contributing factors. "Often the men who have killed their mothers have histories of abuse of their earlier partners, so they had moved in with their mother after those relationships broke down," O'Callaghan explained. "However, despite our reporting on matricides for 10 years, no state agency has yet to acknowledge matricide, let alone take responsibility for tackling it."
She further highlighted a critical gap in support systems, stating, "Women are rarely recognised as being at risk of fatal violence from their sons and there are few dedicated services for older women in the whole of the UK."
Long-Term Data and Government Strategy Under Scrutiny
Last year, a Guardian investigation based on Femicide Census data found that nearly one in ten women killed by men in the UK over the previous fifteen years were mothers killed by their sons. The organisation's "2,000 Women" report showed that more than 170 mothers were killed by their sons between 2009 and 2021, with mental ill health a factor in 58% of these matricide cases.
In December, the government published its Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy. The plan includes:
- Tackling harmful behaviours among boys.
- Teaching pupils about healthy relationships and the impact of pornography.
- Equipping teachers with skills to intervene.
While women's organisations hailed it as a "milestone", they warned it fell "seriously short" of the funding required to achieve the government's ambition of halving VAWG within a decade.
O'Callaghan acknowledged the strategy—the first to mention femicide—as a "step in the right direction," but criticised it for leaving many areas of intervention by specialist organisations unrecognised. "We need new money, not previously committed money redistributed," she asserted.
The government states the strategy is backed by £1 billion in funding, including:
- £50 million for therapeutic support for child victims of sexual abuse.
- £19 million for councils to provide safe housing for domestic abuse survivors.
- £550 million to support victims and witnesses throughout the criminal justice system.
Despite this, O'Callaghan warned of a systemic funding crisis: "Specialist women-led charities are at risk of closure. This has been going on for years in the sector, and this is a government that knows that, and yet there is little change on the ground."
The parliamentary reading on International Women's Day will serve as both a memorial and a powerful call for more effective action and dedicated resources to end violence against women and girls across the United Kingdom.
