Too late for Tulay

The murder of Tulay Goren by her own father would be shocking wherever it happened, and Amnestys work on Turkey, Iraq and several other countries clearly shows that honour killings are a deadly threat to women and girls in numerous parts of the world. But many will have found it all the more shocking because it happened right here in the UK. Thats certainly the impression you get from todays papers, with the story filling one-page and two-page spreads across tabloids and (what used to be called) broadsheets alike. When the verdict was announced yesterday we urged the police and other authorities in the UK to redouble their efforts to prevent these horrendous crimes. 

Last month, as part of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), we warmly welcomed the announcement of a cross-governmental strategy to tackle all forms of violence against women including rape, domestic violence, trafficking and forced marriage, but warned that the strategy will only be effective if properly resourced. See Niluccio's post here.

 Women will judge the strategy in terms of its impact on frontline womens services. They still face a postcode lottery when seeking support and much funding for existing services, such as rape crisis centres, refuges and services for ethnic minority women, is increasingly fragile.   Women consulted for the strategy told the government that they not only needed these services, but that, in some instances, having them had literally saved their lives.  Tragically, its too late to save Tulay, whod faced years of beatings by her father, but we can and must do all we can to save others in her situation.