Murdered school teacher Sabina Nessa was remembered at Labour Party conference, as calls were made to better protect women and girls.
A period of silence was observed in the conference hall in Brighton in memory of Ms Nessa, 28, who was attacked while walking to meet a friend at a pub near her home in south-east London.
Shadow equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds said Labour wanted to make tackling violence against women and girls a “priority”, telling delegates: “No more excuses.”
Members then went on to speak in favour of a motion previously developed at the party’s women’s conference.
This called on Labour MPs to press for the introduction of a stalking register to identify, track and monitor repeat offenders, ensure police forces provide protection to victims as cases progress, and require the enforcement of restraining orders – among other measures.
Members of the public attend a vigil in memory of Sabina Nessa, and in solidarity against violence against women, at Pegler Square in Kidbrooke, south London.
Jonathan Brady
Joanne Oldale, of Poole Labour Party, said: “We’ve already spoken about Sabina Nessa today and the fact she was a woman in a public space and that simple fact alone made her vulnerable.
“We should all say her name: Sabina Nessa, rest in peace.
“In the short time since Sabina’s death, it’s likely that three further women have been killed by men in the UK.”
Ms Oldale added: “Sabina’s death was not an isolated event. Far from it.
“Women and girls face violence in the form of stalking, harassment and assault every day – in the home, in the streets, at work, online and at school.”
Patricia Hannah-Wood, of Pendle Labour Party, said: “As you can tell I’m a trans-woman, but since I became a woman I have experienced undue harassment and violence against my person not only by misogynistic men, but women as well.
Members of the public attend a vigil in memory of Sabina Nessa, and in solidarity against violence against women, at Pegler Square in Kidbrooke, south London.
Jonathan Brady
“So it is not just men that cause violence.
“But we must support this motion because without it, more people like the young schoolteacher who got murdered this week, more of them, more of us, are going to suffer that fate.”
Stephanie Lynch, from Aberavon Labour Party, spoke about the “shocking misogyny” she had experienced since her election.
She said: “Since being elected as a councillor this year, I’ve experienced really shocking misogyny within the party.
“I was looking into the different rules that can kind of protect us against this kind of thing and it’s a rule within the Labour Party that I think, don’t quote me, but 50% of exec members have to be women.
“I wrote to both Welsh Labour and UK Labour asking how many CLPs (constituency Labour parties) fulfilled this and they weren’t able to tell me as it’s not tracked.
“So that kind of feels like a bit of a tick box.”
