Photo: Jacob King / PA
"The real heroes": Camilla at summit on violence against women
Queen Camilla attended a summit on ending violence against women and girls. She hailed survivors of domestic abuse as the real heroes, and said that talking about it could put an end to it.
Queen Camilla attended a summit on ending violence against women and girls at Marlborough College in Wiltshire on Friday. Leaders from charities working against domestic abuse and other violence against women took part.
The aim of the summit was to bring together those working on the issue, so they can drive change both nationally and locally.
The goal is to halve the violence
The Queen listened to speeches by Jess Phillips MP, on the government's target to halve violence against women and girls nationally, and by Dame Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, on what works best to prevent and respond to domestic abuse.
"The real heroes are the survivors"
Camilla said it was a visit to the charity SafeLives that inspired her commitment. There she heard the best friend of Jo Simpson, who was killed by her estranged husband, speak about what happened. "It was one of the bravest things I've ever seen," the Queen said.
"I want to say the real heroes are the survivors. The survivors who come forward and tell us all their stories. It's terrifying to get up onto a platform and talk about something so horrific in front of an audience. I just want to applaud them," she said.
"Talking is what we have to do. Domestic abuse was a taboo subject and nobody talked about it. It was hush hush. Now people are getting up and talking about it. And hopefully if we keep on talking and having gatherings like this, we might be able to put an end to it forever."
A cause she has championed for many years
Tackling violence against women has long been one of Queen Camilla's most important causes. She is patron of SafeLives and supports several other organisations in the field.