Blue plaques for women murdered in domestic homicide

[Lifeomars]

Just seen this on the Guardian website. I think is is an excellent albeit tragic way to raise awareness about the endemic violence against women and girls https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/sep/16/killed-here-plaques-campaign-tougher-sentences-domestic-homicides-law?CMP=share_btn_url

That's a sad but powerful sight, how awful that being killed by someone whose supposed to love you means they get a lighter sentence. For some people love really is just a word.
RIP Poppy 🌹

I think this os hugely important . I think there should be a companion project to put a computer scoreboard outside of each police station showing numbers of unsolved violent murders and rapes for the precinct.

we have to make this violence against women visible and embarrassing to the police and justice system.

Wouldn’t be very good for the property value

It's shocking to see and I would wonder how it would affect the sale/rent prices of the properties. This is not because I'm some callous coldhearted bitch but I don't think the campaign should be at the expense of any current residents or owners. I feel there must be other methods. Even if the family of the murdered still own the home or live there and agree to the plaque it feels like it's punishing and retraumatising passers by who realistically have a micro-teeny-tiny-absolutely miniscule impact on the change of the law. Writing letters badgering MPs achieve very little and most people are not motivated to campaign anyway.

Probably less important than highlighting the horrific abuse that women suffer though wouldn't you say?

These perpetrators in these cases have all been caught

The police got successful prosecutions!

I don't like this idea at all. Imagine that being what you were known for? These women haven't given their permission for this. What about their achievements in life? Everything overshadowed by being murdered.

To add, using the iconic blue plaque to catch eyes people who are expecting to read something pleasant and interesting about a famous person read something so awful, I for example purposefully avoid reading and hearing awful news because I can't do fuck all about it and it ruins my day. I think aggressive campaign and advertising punishes the wrong audience, do something like that outside of number 10 or where big bosses see it, why do we have to think about this. I can't change the laws or bring her back. Local MP won't do fuck all about anything. Why do I have to see this?

If they haven't given consent for this, then I don't agree with it.

Exactly

Those plaques are hard fought to honour people with amazing achievements

This is making someone's life just about the murder and just makes them a perpetual victim

Plus, you'll start getting morbid "tours" of them knowing people...

I imagine the properties who agreed either are the murdered women's families who feel obliged and rightly want to campaign for (better) justice or people who feel pressured and too embarrassed to refuse. A smaller concern is weirdos who might make a tour out of it 'murdered women crawl' but you could argue if someone has a sick fascination they might be the type to purposefully buy, rent, live or hang out around murder scenes anyway. There are really sick people like we saw of the Grenfell fire, the awful gathering with a cardboard model of Grenfell set on a bonfire. There are people like this so I feel the plaque will draw more damage and disrespect by and for the wrong audience. It will damage and hurt the community.

The families of the murdered women have given permission. The plaques are only temporary and will be given to the families afterwards.

I actually think it would be a very powerful campaign if paper plaques were put up at every house of a murdered woman for one day. I know it couldn't actually happen for a number of reasons.

I agree completely.

I know several women who've experienced DV. Thankfully none have died although there's been injuries.

One is back with her violent husband because of the social housing shortage. She was put in substandard temporary accommodation which was not safer than being with her husband. It was as bad. Homeless people are dumped in awful places and often one size fits all (so ex prisoners, including possibly abusers, housed in the same blocks as DV victims).

I appreciate the idea of these plaques is well meaning but I know from friends who've experienced DV that many women wouldn't want their name publicly known like that.

The money for these plaques would be better spent on better support for victims - social housing, supportive benefits system etc, as that's what will reduce DV and domestic homicides. (Obviously though if the family of a murdered victim chooses to use their own money for a memorial - plaque or otherwise, that's absolutely their choice).

Separately, if anyone's name should be widely and publicly known it's the perpetrators of domestic homicide.

Many absolutely hate to be "outed". They're very keen on keeping up their Mr Nice Guy public image. Even when convicted many get sympathy. We can see that in reporting - things like "neighbours said he was a lovely guy", "man pushed to the edge by wife's nagging", "he was going through a difficult mental health crisis".

I think it's a bloody fantastic idea

This!
It's why Clare's Law was so important. It meant there was a way to take some of that secrecy away. Abusers who'd been convicted before could be known. Victims could check if their abuser had done it before.

It is what they are known for though, that's the point, that's what makes murder so fucking awful. Why sugar coat it? If someone close to you is murdered, that is what you think of when you remember them. That's what these men have done.

A very powerful statement and definitely gets you thinking.
I think this is totally okay, considering the victims families know about this and have given their go ahead.
Also.. that one that is dated 2002-2019 😢

But not every woman would want their name widely known for that.

I know the women I know (who've experienced DV) wouldn't want that for themselves. One in particular is a very private person. I wouldn't want it either. I'm very lucky that I have a good DH but if I was murdered I wouldn't want people knowing my name for that.

Obviously some people might not mind, might even want that, but we can't know after the event because dead people can't consent.

Make the perpetrators names widely known instead. These abusers hate to be named and shamed.

Even more importantly, address the issues that stop victims leaving - so that DV can be reduced and DV murders can be prevented.

Yes I agree. I find domestic violence repellent and the deaths heartbreaking; but this isn’t tasteful. It’s slightly macabre to adopt a blue plaque, which already has a purpose of committing a life’s achievements to posterity, and immortalise the act of someone else by marking the spot it took place. It’s just all off key.

… it would break my heart to see a female relative’s name on a blue plaque because they were murdered. It’s a tragedy not a badge of honour.

ETA why even bring concepts of achievement into the mix of such a heart-breakingly sad event?

I think it's a really good idea. The sight of just those 7 plaques together is really hard hitting. If they were papering our towns and cities? It really gives a strong sense of the scale of the issue. And the dates- it hits home about the life, often young, taken.

They are not going to be left there permanently, they will displayed for a while and then taken down and given to the respective families.

Oh that’s not quite as bad. But still. Why not a special plaque - purple or similar?