News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

Stacey Hyde acquitted of murder – Justice for Women

22 year old Stacey Hyde walks free from Winchester Crown Court after five and half years in prison for an offence she did not commit

Justice for Women criticise DPP for proceeding with unnecessary and costly murder retrial of damaged and vulnerable young woman.

A jury at Winchester Crown court have today (21 May 2015) acquitted Stacey Hyde of murder following a retrial that was ordered by the court of appeal last November 2014.

Stacey, from Wells  in Somerset was 17 when she stabbed Vince Francis following a violent attack by him on her and her friend Holly, the girlfriend of the victim.  Despite compelling evidence that Stacey killed in self defence she was convicted of murder at her first trial in Bristol Crown Court in 2010.

Campaign group Justice for Women took up her case and a new legal team obtained fresh evidence from adolescent psychiatrists that was presented to the Court of Appeal.  Stacey’s murder conviction was quashed in November 2014.  She had by then served five years in custody of a life sentence with a nine year tariff.  The prosecution were not willing to accept a plea to manslaughter and insisted she should face a fresh trial for murder.  Although Stacey believed she had killed in self defence, she had lost her memory of key events and fearful of another traumatic trial and re-conviction for murder she was willing to plead guilty to manslaughter.

Representations were made to the Director of Public Prosecutions that the evidential test was not met and it was not in the public interest to proceed with a re-trial.  Despite evidence in support of self defence, Stacey was willing to plead guilty to manslaughter. These detailed representations were rejected although the DPP refused to provide reasons for her decision.

In preparation for the retrial, the new legal team considered the evidence properly presented would support self defence.  In particular a 999 call made at the time of the killing revealed that Stacey was screaming in terror thoughout the incident and that her former friend Holly Banwell, despite her evidence to the contrary, was under attack by Francis at the time of the stabbing.  Evidence emerged of a history of violence towards women by Francis, including a former girlfriend, who gave similar fact evidence.

Justice for Women have slammed the prosecutor Christopher Quinlan QC for aggressively pursuing the prosecution in spite of the overwhelming evidence that undermined his case for murder.  In particular, at the appeal the adolescent psychiatrist instructed by the Crown was unable to support the prosecution and instead gave evidence for the defence.  Even the adult psychiatrist on whom the crown relied, found Stacey suffered from a number of mental disorders.

Quinlan vigorously opposed applications for bail following the successful appeal, to ensure that Stacey remained in custody for a further six months awaiting trial.

At the trial, he called witnesses whose evidence conflicted significantly with the 999 call.  The prosecution sought to paint Stacey as a drunken flirt despite undisputed evidence that she was a victim of abuse and had been self medicating with alcohol to dull her pain.

“I would like to say thank you to Justice for Women, my legal team, friends and family for believing in me and giving me hope and strength to never give up.  I will be forever grateful and blessed to have been given my life back.”

Justice for Women have supported Stacey since 2011, throughout a series of appeals. We are delighted that justice has finally been done and that Stacey will now be able to receive the support she needs instead of being unjustly punished for her own vulnerability and fear.
Justice for Women have campaigned for 25 years to highlight the adverse treatment of women by the criminal justice system. We hope that this verdict will highlight the issues that abused and vulnerable women continue to face. http://www.justiceforwomen.org.uk/

Stacey was represented at the retrial by Steve Kamlish QC and Clare Wade, Garden Court Chambers, instructed by Harriet Wistrich from Birnberg Peirce.

Source http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1smaf5d

See earlier reports at http://www.womensgrid.org.uk/groups/?s=Stacey+Hyde

May 21, 2015

Rape Crisis responds to Operation Hydrant press release from NPCC

Over 1400 suspects investigated for child sexual abuse by people of public prominence or within institutions

This is set against the backdrop of indicative figures showing that police caseload for reports of child sexual abuse has increased 71 per cent in the last three years. 

In response to press release from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) on 20th May 2015, Rape Crisis spokeswoman Katie Russell said:

“The significant increase in reports of child sexual abuse from adult survivors to the police over the last three years is mirrored in our own experience of unprecedented demand for specialist sexual violence support, counselling and advocacy services over the same period.

Our 50 member Rape Crisis organisations across England and Wales are receiving more referrals than ever before and the majority of women and girls we work with continue to seek our support for experiences that took place a number of years ago, including non-recent child sexual abuse, as well as for more recent experiences of sexual violence.

The true scale of sexual violence by individuals in positions of power, trust and authority, by groups and within institutions, and by friends, family members and other known perpetrators, is just starting to be revealed.

It is clear that as the Goddard Panel Inquiry gets underway, still more survivors are likely to come forward to seek services.

It is therefore essential that the Government prioritises resourcing for Rape Crisis Organisations, to ensure there is specialist sexual violence support and advocacy available to those who need and want it.”

Press Release at http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/news_show.php?id=154

May 21, 2015

22 May 2015 ~ Change that Lasts – WA Conference Birmingham – Early Bird discount ends

Conference Aston, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET

Please note that 1st July is a women only space for Women’s Aid members and 2nd July is aimed at all professionals and agencies working for and with survivors of domestic abuse

Change that Lasts: survivors’ needs and voices at the centre

Early Bird discount ends on Friday 22nd May!

Women’s Aid invites you to attend the leading annual event bringing together specialist providers of domestic and sexual violence services and professionals working in the violence against women sector from across England.

Conference delegates attending on 2nd July will:

  • Hear about Women’s Aid’s new needs led approach, ‘Change that Lasts’, for survivors and all of the agencies supporting them;
  • Hear a keynote speech from Coercive Control expert Evan Stark;
  • Discuss how we can reframe state responses to domestic violence;
  • Take part in workshop sessions on topics including safeguarding, child contact proceedings, supporting male victims, balancing the needs of the mother and the children and the relationship between work with perpetrators and survivors of domestic violence.

Other speakers include:

  • Professor Betsy Stanko, Head of Evidence and Insight at Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, London; (invited)
  • Cathy Ashley, CEO, Family Rights Group;
  • Sir Tony Hawkhead, Chief Executive, Action for Children;
  • Karen Tyrell, Executive Director of Communications, Addaction;
  • Annie Hudson, Chief Executive, The College of Social Work;
  • Cathie Williams, Chief Officer, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS);
  • Dr Susan Bewley, Consultant Obstetrician.

Workshop sessions include:

  • Picking up the pieces: supporting women survivors in the family courts – Rights of Women;
  • Supporting male victims – Ntokozo Dlova, Respect;
  • Making Safeguarding personal – Lindsey Pike, RiPfA;
  • The impact of domestic violence on women’s health – Dr Anne Flitcraft MD;
  • Embedding safe inquiry in society – Nicki Norman, Women’s Aid.

…and more to be announced soon!

Early Bird Discount!

A place on 2nd July for non Women’s Aid members costs £200 for voluntary organisations and £250 for statutory.

Book and pay before May 22nd 2015 to receive a £20 early bird discount on each place.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

For all conference enquiries please contact the events team

See also: http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic-violence-events.asp?itemid=3444&itemTitle=Women%27s+Aid+National+Conference+2015%3A+Change+that+Lasts&section=000100010017&sectionTitle=Events+calendar&dm_i=674,3EGOH,APZUDG,C62TC,1

May 21, 2015

New Cabinet a third female – Centre for Women and Democracy (CFWD)

Following the General Election on 7 May, the Prime Minister has appointed a new Cabinet, and has achieved his aim of a third of members being women. (Download Factsheet)

There are 22 full members of Cabinet, of whom 7 (32%) are women. There are in addition 8 ministers who attend Cabinet but are not members. Of these, 3 are women, bringing the total number who are either members of or attend Cabinet to 10 – 33%.

In addition, the ministerial teams for each department have also been announced. Excluding Cabinet members and attenders (as well as both Lords and Commons Whips teams), a total of 66 junior ministers have been announced. 12 of them (18%) are women.

There are 2 departments with no women in their ministerial teams (the Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities & Local Government) and 1 with no men (the Department of Energy & Climate Change).

The Acting Leader of the Labour Party, Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP, has carried out a minor reshuffle of the Labour Shadow Cabinet. There are 27 members, of whom 14 (52%) are women. It should be noted, however, that the currently available list of shadow ministers does not differentiate between full members and those just attending.

Full details of women Cabinet members, ministers and Shadow Cabinet members can be downloded in our new Factsheet.

Nan Sloane, Director of the Centre for Women & Democracy, said:

‘The increase in the number of women in Cabinet is very welcome, and meets the Prime Minister’s earlier pledge of achieving female membership of a third. However, there are still some issues in terms of single-sex ministerial teams, and there is still a problem with the relatively low number of women in the more junior ministerial posts. The increase in the number of Conservative women MPs at the last election will give the Prime Minister a wider pool of talent from which to draw in the future, and we hope that he will use it.’

http://www.cfwd.org.uk/news/94/61/New-Cabinet-a-third-female

See also Cabinet Breakthrough for Women from Fawcett http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/blog/cabinet-breakthrough-for-women/

May 14, 2015

Women MPs at all-time high – Centre for Women and Democracy (CFWD)

29.2% of Westminster MPs are now women, up from 22.7% before the General Election.

Most parties have returned an increased number of women, and the total has now reached 190 (out of a total 650 MPs across the board).

Labour has 98 women (42%), the Conservatives 68 (20%), the SNP 20 (36%), the Green Party, Plaid Cymru and the Northern Irish SDLP one apiece, and the Liberal Democrats and all other parties (including both Unionist parties in Northern Ireland and Sinn Fein) none at all. There is one Independent woman.

CFWD Director Nan Sloane said:

‘Both Labour and the Conservatives have done well in terms of increasing the number of women MPs, but overall we are still nowhere near the 50% target we should be aiming for. The fact that nearly a third of Parliament is now female is a cause for shame rather than celebration, and we look forward to seeing how the position can be improved for the next election in 2020.’

The Counting Women In coalition, of which CFWD is a founder member, will be publishing Sex & Power 2015: Who runs Britain?’ in June. This will look in detail at women’s representation and access to power, and make specific recomemndations for action.

http://www.cfwd.org.uk/news/93/61/Women-MPs-at-all-time-high

May 14, 2015