Jess Phillips listed the names of every woman killed by a man in the last year in Parliament today – it took her seven minutes.
The Home Office minister read out the names of 108 women killed by a man or where a man was charged since International Women’s Day.
Some were as young as 17, while one woman was 93 years old. Others were listed only as ‘unnamed’.
To a silent House of Commons, Phillips said it would be a ‘miracle’ if she could reel off the names without crying.
The Birmingham Yardley MP told MPs how women and girls in the UK are ‘suffering’.
‘They are being attacked, abused, harassed and stalked at home, in public places and online,’ she said.
‘The scale of violence against women and girls shames our society.’
Courtney Angus, 21, was one of the women whose names MPs heard.
Remembered by friends as a ‘beautiful soul’, Courtney was killed by Michael Doherty at his home in Batley, West Yorkshire.
Another was Brenda Breed, 87, who was killed in July 2025. Her son is on trial for her alleged killing.
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Stephanie Blundell, 41, was left to die by her partner, Tony Davenport, after he had injured her more than 100 times. Davenport was jailed last month.
Phillips has carried out this solemn tradition for the past 11 years as part of her work with Counting Dead Women, by the Femicide Census.
After the speech, the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls called for the women to ‘get the justice that they deserve’ and to honour them by preventing more gender-based violence.
Among the names were 19 mothers whose sons are the top suspects, or one in five of those on the list. This is the highest rate since the Femicide Census’ records began 16 years ago.
The number of women killed by men hasn’t declined since 2009, often being between 124 and 168 a year, according to the census. This means a woman is killed every three days or so in the UK.
Femicide Census said today: ‘Every name Jess Philips reads out is a woman who would still be here but for men’s violence and abuse.’
It warned that the names on the list are almost certainly an undercount, given how many go unreported and cases unprosecuted.
‘Femicide,’ it added, ‘is not a gateway crime.’
‘Honouring women means more than reading their names’
For Killed Women, a network of charities and campaigners, Phillips’ reading today captures the ever-growing need for action.
They point to some bracing data to show this. At least 369 women were recorded as victims of domestic homicide in the UK from 2020 to 2024, with 24% being women of colour.
Prosecution and police systems are ‘failing’ Black, brown and other women from minority backgrounds, as well as migrants, the network said.
Black, minoritised and migrant women have long struggled to access support services, even facing indifference and dismissal.
After their death, their grieving families face stigma from investigators, prosecutors and the press.
‘Honouring women means more than reading their names,’ Killed Women added.
‘It means confronting the systemic failures behind them – and ensuring no woman remains invisible.’
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