Mental health charities have commended the bravery of yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, who was seriously injured during a brutal stabbing spree in the British seaside town of Southport in July. The attacker killed three girls and wounded another eight and a man who tried to protect them during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class. Lucas had attempted to shield two of the girls when she was stabbed. Speaking at a vigil for lost females in Liverpool last month, Lucas had said that as women, they must rise above “guilt, shame and fear” and embrace courage, fierceness and connection. Addressing the audience, she said, “share your stories. Often we don’t realise how powerful we are”.
After a period of treatment and recovery, Lucas had addressed the public for the first time, sharing her experience surviving the attack. Sandy Withe, a representative from the Birkenhead-based charity Tomorrow’s Women, praised Lucas for the bravery she displayed while speaking out so soon after the attack.
Since 2009, Merseyside has recorded 74 instances in which women or girls were murdered in cases of violence by men. The region has seen some of the highest rates of fatal violence, with prominent cases including the murder of 12-year-old Ava White in 2021, and other victims including nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, 28-year-old Ashley Dale, and 26-year-old Elle Edwards, who was shot on Christmas Eve last year. One charity participating in the vigil, Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Merseyside (RASA), affirmed that it is crucial to keep public attention focussed on the issue of violence against women and girls.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has described the upswing in violence against women as a “national emergency”. Liverpool is set to participate, for the first time, in the UK Women’s March in January. The event aims to raise awareness of the issue, raise awareness of violence against women, and to condemn it. According to police in Merseyside, supporting efforts to counter violence against women and girls is a core priority for the force. The police are putting “women’s voices at the heart” of their work
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