Two women whose daughters were murdered by their ex-partners have said a “bereaved mother is not to be messed with” after receiving honours for their campaign to strengthen domestic violence laws.
Carole Gould and Julie Devey co-founded the group Killed Women after their daughters – Ellie Gould, 17, and Poppy Devey Waterhouse, 24 – were killed in their homes by men they had ended relationships with.
Another campaigner, Nick Gazzard, whose daughter Hollie, 20, was murdered by her abusive ex-boyfriend in 2014, was also recognised for his work around domestic violence and stalking. He said his daughter would be “looking down on us with that huge smile”.
They were appointed OBE in the New Year Honours list.
The trio were among a number of people recognised in the list for working to protect women and girls.
Ms Gould and Ms Devey said it would help them to “continue to shine a light” on their campaign and keep domestic violence in the “spotlight”.
They have jointly called for an increase in the starting tariff for murders in the home from 15 years to 25 years. In March 2021, Ms Gould successfully fought to change a law on sentencing for teenage killers – dubbed Ellie’s law – so they could be given longer sentences.
Ellie Gould was stabbed to death at her home in Calne, Wiltshire in 2019 by Thomas Griffiths after she ended their relationship.
Because he was 17 at the time, Griffiths received a more lenient sentence than an adult defendant. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 12 years and six months.
Poppy was murdered by Joe Atkinson in Leeds in 2018, after the end of their three-year relationship. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 15 years and 310 days.
A joint statement from Ms Devey and Ms Gould said: “Getting this far has been really hard and emotionally draining and, of course, will not bring our darling daughters back, but as we learn more and more about the injustices, and more and more families reach out to us, we are fired up to continue our work. A bereaved mother is not to be messed with.”
Nick Gazzard’s daughter Hollie was stabbed to death in the Gloucester salon where she worked by her ex-boyfriend, shortly after she ended the relationship. He was jailed for life later that year.
Mr Gazzard, 60, has campaigned for victims of domestic abuse and stalking in the years since her death.
Reacting to his inclusion in the honours list, he said: “We didn’t want her to be another statistic and our aim was to use her story to help others avoid what she went through.
“I’m sure she’s looking down on us with that huge smile, and proud about what is being achieved in her name.”
Others included on the list include:
- Nicole Alison Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales since 2019, has been appointed OBE
- Wendy Ansell, of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, has been appointed OBE for services to survivors of harmful practices and to women seeking sanctuary
- Hawa Daboh Sesay, the executive director of the Hawa Trust Foundation, has been appointed CBE for her work with victims of female genital mutilation and other forms of abuse
