EXCLUSIVE: Nour Norris, whose niece Raneem Oudeh and sister Khaola Saleem were murdered eight years ago has welcomed Andy Burnham’s decision to speed up measures to tackle violence against women and girls
A heartbroken campaigner whose sister and niece were murdered after a string of police failures has called on Andy Burnham to deliver a “turning point” following a string of new promises.
Nour Norris welcomed a pledge by the Prime Minister to speed up measures to protect women and girls after he said progress was too slow. Speaking on the eighth anniversary of the murders of Raneem Oudeh, 22, and Khaola Saleem, 49, Nour told The Mirror: “I think this is a turning point, if all the measures start to happen and take place, it will really save lives.”
Mr Burnham has announced all police forces in England and Wales will have specialist rape and sexual offence teams in place by the end of next year – 18 months faster than originally promised. And police chiefs will begin rolling out specialist Protection Order Teams to keep victims safe – with electronic tagging, exclusion zones and compulsory behaviour change programmes.
These orders will be issued by courts even if the perpetrator has not been convicted of a criminal offence. The PM said: “The scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country is unacceptable. We must be laser focused on stamping out these vile crimes. These measures were going to be introduced in 2029, but I think that’s too slow.”
Nour said she was pleased by the PM’s words – but warned victims of domestic abuse continue to be failed. Raneem contacted police 13 times in the months leading up to her death on August 27, 2018, and called 999 four times on the night she and her mother were murdered by her ex-husband in Solihull.
Despite repeated warnings that Janbaz Tarin was dangerous, no arrests were made, and an inquest heard that mistakes by West Midlands Poice had contributed to their deaths.
Nour said: “Eight years ago, in 2018, my sister and my niece lost their lives. Eight years later, we haven’t stopped campaigning, and we will never stop, because their story will live forever.
“We’re talking here about national failure on all scales. So we’re still in the beginning. To not have protection for people was such a huge failure. So this is only a first step in making people safe and saving lives.”
Labour came to power promising to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. A key commitment was to bring in Raneem’s Law, which will see domestic violence specialists embedded in every 999 call centre.
This has been piloted in control rooms, and Nour said she wants it to be in place as fast as possible everywhere. Asked if similar failures are happening now, she said: “It’s still happening. Absolutely.
“Yes, we have Raneem’s Law but it’s not been fully rolled out, it’s just been piloted. So, we do have some successful cases, but it doesn’t mean it has tackled everything, because it hasn’t been rolled out nationally.”
Nour said she would continue to pressure the government to address early intervention to protect women and their families.
“My campaign will continue, and I will never stop. I always say that I’ll only stop when I die, and then someone else will have to take over,” she said.
“They were my friends, my family. My sister was like my mother, I’ve never viewed her as a sister. She’s older than me, so to me, she was my mother. She was my safety net. She was wonderful, beautiful, very generous. I miss her a lot. I’ll always miss her.
“Raneem was the most beautiful soul you can ever meet. Her heart, her beauty, her presence, everything. They were such a joy in our life. I remember them every day. I’m using my grief and my loss as a fuel to move forward to do this campaign.”
Writing for The Mirror, Safeguarding Minister Satvir Kaur said: “Victims and survivors remain at the heart of government action on this. To them directly, I say you deserve to be believed. You deserve to feel supported. And you deserve policing and protection that actually works.
“This government and I will not stop until this is achieved.”
The PM has announced that up to 10 police forces will get a share of a £13.3 million pot for pioneering specialist Protection Order Teams. Those who break orders face being sent to prison.
New Domestic Abuse Protection Orders will cover all types of domestic abuse, including physical, controlling or coercive behaviour, as well as economic abuse and stalking. There will be no maximum duration – meaning victims do not need to repeatedly apply for protection.
Police teams will trial new ways to enforce them, the Home Office said. It also
The funding announced today, which will be met from Home Office budgets, will allow teams to trial new ways to enforce these protection orders, with tighter management of perpetrators to protect victims.
The department is also rolling out a programme working directly with perpetrators to change abusive behaviour.