Powerful second as Jess Phillips reads names of 110 ladies killed by males to Parliament

On Mar 12, 2026

For the 11th year, Jess Phillips carried out the sombre tradition of honouring women killed by a man or where a man has been charged since the last International Women’s Day

17:00, 12 Mar 2026

MPs fell silent today as the names of 110 women killed by men in the past year were read to Parliament.

For the 11th year, Jess Phillips carried out the sombre tradition of honouring women killed by a man or where a man has been charged since the last International Women’s Day. It forms part of Ms Phillips’s collaboration with Counting Dead Women – the Femicide Census’ sister project. The Home Office minister first read out a list of women killed by men in 2016.

Ms Phillips told MPs: “The reason I stood to be elected to Parliament in the first place is that while we are gathered here in the heart of our democracy to discuss these issues in comfort and in safety, beyond these walls, in every part of our country, women and girls are suffering.

“They are being attacked, abused, harassed and stalked at home, in public places and online. The scale of violence against women and girls shames our society.” After reading the list of names, she called for the women to “get the justice that they deserved” and for them to be honoured “by preventing others from suffering the same fate”.

As a Home Office minister, she vowed to fund and deliver the oversight mechanism for recommendations made in domestic homicide reviews. “This is about turning lessons into action, not just letting those documents sit on a shelf in some local authority,” she said.

The list includes Courtney Angus, who was killed by Michael Doherty, also known as Michael Moore, at his home from Batley, West Yorkshire. He pleaded guilty to her murder in January. Police discovered her body after he was apprehended in a supermarket with a knife the next day, and told officers he had killed three people. It was later determined that there were no other victims.

Another woman named was Brenda Breed, 87, who was found dead at her home in July 2025. Her son is on trial for her alleged murder.

MPs also heard of Vanessa Whyte, 45, and her children James Rutledge, 14, and Sara Rutledge, 13, who were shot dead in their home last July. Ian Rutledge, 43, who was suspected of murdering his family in a triple murder and suicide, died in hospital the following week.

Stephanie Blundell, 41, was violently attacked by her boyfriend, who left her to die with more than 100 injuries in July last year. He was jailed for life for her murder last month. Isobella Knight, 32, was murdered by her husband last June.

Dawn Kerr, 56, the mum of Hollyoaks and Netflix star Callum Kerr, was the victim of a murder-suicide in France in February last year. Callum had since urged his mum’s friends not to attend his stepdad’s funeral as he did not want her memory to be associated with his.

Clarrie O’Callaghan, of the Femicide Census said: “Every name Jess Philips reads out is a woman who would still be here but for men’s violence and abuse. Men’s violence against, abuse and objectification of women is pervasive in society, in media, in attitudes, in homes, in schools and online.

“Men’s violence remains under reported and even when women have the courage to report it, it is under prosecuted and where prosecuted, subject to unacceptable criminal justice system delays.”

Karen Ingala Smith, also of the Femicide Census, added: “Femicide is not a gateway crime. Behind so many cases there is evidence of repeated and/or escalating abuse where interventions by the authorities could have changed the outcome for the women who became a name on our list.”

Layla Coe, chief executive of Killed Women: “We thank Jess Phillips for continuing the tradition of reading the names each year. This International Women’s Day we stand with families who say: We Were Here. Where Were You?

“We urge those in power to implement the recommendations in our research report Invisible Women Made Visible and deliver the systemic change needed to end violence against women and girls. Recognition and remembrance must now lead to reform and accountability.”

Dr Hannana Siddiqui OBE of Southall Black Sisters and Co-Chair of InVisible Women: “We call on the Government to establish an independent public inquiry into “femicide”. The names read in Parliament are a stark reminder that far more must be done to prevent such tragedies.

“We believe Black, minoritised and migrant women are over-represented in domestic homicides, so-called ‘honour’ killings, unexplained deaths and abuse-related suicides. These cases must be treated and investigated as murder from the outset so we do not fail BMM women at a systemic level.”

Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs said: “No family should have to face an agonising fight for justice or be left without answers when their loved one has been cruelly taken. Government must ensure lessons are learnt and swiftly acted on when a domestic abuse-related death occurs.

“It must also be ruthless in its effort to address the misogynistic attitudes that sit at the root of these deaths. We owe it to the women and their families to make sure their deaths lead to meaningful change.”