The murder of former minister and spokes person for Reform UK Ann Widdecombe on 8 July 2026 was a barbaric act which should have begun a serious conversation about the state of British society at present. There should have been some serious soul searching. Political leaders, the Church leaders, the Media, Influencers, the Police leaders, the Judiciary all failed in their duty to speak out about the violence that has taken hold of our society. Violence in general and violence in particular against women is an issue of immense concern. Ann Widdecombe who had given her life to public service and who was still active in public life at the age 78 was brutally murdered in her own house. Minutes before her murder she was looking forward to doing a radio interview. The poor lady was hit 21 times with a hammer by the brutal killer. The pain and fear that she must have been going through is unimaginable. Her desperate efforts to cling on to dear life must have been heart wrenchingly painfully. Only a monster can unleash such violence on a defenceless elderly lady. What did she do to deserve such a violent death? I had expected that the country would have reacted with utmost outrage. There should have been a call for national mourning. The flags should have flown at half mast. Instead we had the media reporting the murder devoid of any emotions or outrage. Political leaders too did no go beyond the usual condolences. Violence against women has become so endemic that it does not prick the conscious of the society any more. When that happens in a society we are on a slippery path towards dystopia.
According to government reports the harm caused to victims and society by violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all its forms – including but not limited to harassment, stalking, rape, sexual assault, murder, honour-based killing and coercive control is immeasurable. It is not only the victim whose life is shattered but also the lives of the friends and relatives are ruined. For every victim there will be a mother, father, brother, sister and many other close relations who will suffer the pain.This means that millions of lives are impacted by the violence perpetrated on a single person. A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK. Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)makes up almost 20% per cent of all recorded crime in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2023, police recorded 103,135 rape and serious sexual offences. 1 in 4 women experiance domestic abuse. The police recorded 1.4 million domestic abuse-related crimes and incidents in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025. A review of domestic homicides between 2012 and 2019 found that 52 per cent of victims had contacted the police prior to their killing. Poor information sharing and engagement from health bodies is regularly referenced in Domestic Homicide Reviews.The Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimates that in the year ending March 2022, 1.1 million adults above the age of 16 (2.3 per cent) experienced sexual assault in England and Wales. It also found that in the year ending March 2025 women were more likely to have experienced violent crime. A higher proportion of women also experienced domestic abuse (6.6%), stalking (4.0%), sexual assault (3.4%), and harassment (11.2%).
In 2024, police chiefs declared VAWG a national emergency through a national statement, calling for a whole-system approach that brings together criminal justice partners, government bodies, health and education to collectively tackle the threat, through earlier identification of perpetrators and prevention work. In spite of the assurances by law makers the perpetrators of violence are not deterred. The Judicial system which sometimes gives non custodial sentences to rapists and which releases rapists on bail who go on to murder are failing the women in our society. That an elderly lady who had given her life to the welfare of people was brutally murdered and that we failed to accord her due respect should be regarded as our collective failure as a society. Time has come for bringing back hanging for heinous crimes.
Nitin Mehta
August 2026
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