The Queen Consort has condemned “a global pandemic of violence against women” at a Buckingham Palace reception attended by 300 guests.
Marking the annual United Nations 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, Camilla hosted survivors and their families as well as Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska; Queen Rania of Jordan, the home secretary Suella Braverman; Carrie Johnson; former Spice Girl Mel B and the health secretary Steve Barclay.
In a speech she said over that period of 16 days more than 2,000 women will be killed worldwide by a partner or family member, while in England and Wales alone, police will record the rapes of more than 3,000 women.
“We are uniting today to confront what has rightly been called a global pandemic of violence against women. Faced with such challenges, it can be hard to know what practical steps we can take to even begin to make a difference,” Camilla said.
Two of the most powerful ways in which to help were “to remember and to listen,” she said. “We remember those women who have lost their lives at the hands of a stranger, or the person who should have loved them best. In so doing, we refuse to be desensitised by cold facts and figures and we resolve to keep the names and the memories of these women alive.
“We remember Brenda Blainey, Mariam Kamara, Lucy Powell, Samantha Drummonds, Yasmin Begum, Sally Turner, Hina Bashir, Jillu Nash and her 12-year-old daughter Louise, to name but a very few of those who have been killed this year alone. And we remember – because we cannot forget – all the other women and girls who died in similarly horrific circumstances.
“These women, tragically, can no longer speak for themselves. But we listen to those who can,” she added, saying she had spoken to countless survivors in her previous role.
