Hull march to remember women killed by men

A march has been held in Hull to remember women lost to male violence.

The group set off from a memorial bench that marks the life of Libby Squire, 21, who was raped and murdered in 2019.

The Hull University student was last seen alive at seating on Beverley Road before being abducted and killed by Pawel Relowicz.

One of the organisers, Jo Charlton from the Say Her Name group, said that three women every single week in the UK were murdered by men.

"We all live very close to this spot where Libby was taken away and we can't forget her," she said.

"We walked past this spot nearly every day of our lives.

"We see these places and any one of us could have been Libby, any one of our daughters could have been Libby.

"So it strikes a chord and it hits home."

The march headed towards the city centre and paused at the site where Claudia Kambanza, 22, was fatally stabbed in January.

Mateus Johannes, 28, of no fixed address, has been charged with her murder.

Vicky Foster from the Say Her Name group said it was appropriate the event took place on International Women's Day.

"We think it's important to recognise that whenever women's achievements are celebrated, we're doing that against the backdrop with still huge inequalities and these horrific rates of violence against women and girls that affect women every day," Ms Foster said.

"They affect our behaviour. There are women living in fear and and it's something that we think really needs to be addressed."

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