Father of murdered girl made OBE for campaign work
The father of a young woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend has warned of the dangers of "negative role models" as he received his OBE.
Nick Gazzard's daughter Hollie, 20, was killed in the Gloucester hair salon where she worked in 2014 after ending a year-long relationship.
Mr Gazzard set up the Hollie Gazzard Trust following his daughter's death and has been campaigning about domestic abuse and stalking since. He was made an OBE by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace on Friday.
"We always said that we would have a legacy for Hollie, and we want to do good work in the area to try and prevent the Hollies of the future happening," he said.
More news stories for Gloucestershire
Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire
Mr Gazzard stressed the importance of educating young people about gender-based and domestic violence.
"It's 11 years since we've lost Hollie, and during that time we have made some progress, but it's the old adage of two steps forward, one step back.
"And the problem is not going away."
He warned that "negative role models" can create issues for young men.
"There's lots of pressures around at the moment, particularly for young men, with some of the role models that are out there.
"So it's about trying to educate young people in particular, about what domestic abuse is so that we can prevent individuals from becoming perpetrators", he added.
Mr Gazzard, who lives in Longlevens, Gloucester, said it was also important to teach young people about stalking.
"We can get to victims when they're young, because they might not identify that they're being stalked or that they've been stalked, or they're being abused, because sometimes it can be very subtle in how it's done," he said.
"The younger we can talk to individuals, the more education we get out of there.
"Hopefully, we can prevent more people going through what Hollie went through."
On receiving his OBE, Mr Gazzard said: "It's a real honour to receive this on behalf of those individuals who are victims and survivors of domestic abuse and stalking, because we know how devastating it can be when you lose someone."
Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
Murder victim's family hosting active bystander event
Murder victim's dad 'proud' 10 years after her death
Lessons in memory of killed daughter 'saving lives'
https://holliegazzard.org/
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Woman dragged into bushes by man with knife on Mass. road
A woman was dragged into the bushes by a man with a knife on the road connecting Nahant to the mainland Tuesday night, according to police. Nahant police responded to a report of an assault near the Halfway Bathhouse on Nahant Road around 9 p.m., Nahant police said in a Facebook post Thursday afternoon. Officers at the scene determined that a woman had been dragged into the bushes by a male suspect who was armed with a knife, but that the suspect had been able to flee the scene. The attack left the woman with non-life-threatening cuts, police said. She was aided at the scene by ambulance personnel Nahant and Massachusetts State Police. State Police are investigating the incident, Nahant police said. State Police did not immediately respond to a request for updates about the case Thursday afternoon. 'This is a reminder to everyone that while we strive to be proactive in our patrols, Nahant is not impervious to crime. We remind everyone that people should be aware of their location at all times and exercise good situational awareness in their surroundings,' Nahant police wrote in the Facebook post. No further information about the incident has been released. 3 Mass. men indicted in connection with Worcester mother, son's shooting deaths Chelsea man charged with murder in fatal stabbing of high schooler in March Three arraigned for trafficking cocaine in Westfield Brockton driving school owner pleads guilty to bribing road test examiners Ex-bouncer at Boston bar found guilty of raping woman in men's bathroom Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man flees to Gladewater, gets life in prison for failure to register as sex offender
UPSHUR COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — A jury found a 56-year-old man guilty of failure to register as sex offender and sentenced him to life in prison on Wednesday as a habitual offender on account of his prior convictions. Passenger dead, drunk driver arrested after truck flips in Bullard, affidavit reveals In 2023, Ronald Wayne Stivers of Illinois was a registered sex offender in Mississippi before he fled the state and moved in with a woman in Gladewater, according to officials. Stivers reportedly met the woman through Facebook and alternated his identity by lying about his name and changing his license plate. Once his true identity was uncovered, the woman forced Stivers out of her home and he was later arrested on June 17, 2024. Officials said Stivers was sentenced to life in prison on June 11, 2025 as a habitual offender with his prior convictions playing a role in his sentencing: On May 16, 1986, the Defendant was sentenced for Theft in the State of Illinois. On July 5, 1989, the Defendant pled guilty to Criminal Trespass of Habitation in the State of Illinois. On June 11, 1998, the Defendant was sentenced for Aggravated Sexual Assault (Adult Woman)- Count I and II in the State of Illinois. On June 11, 1998, the Defendant was sentenced for Felony Escape in the State of Illinois. On June 11, 1998, the Defendant was sentenced for Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault with Deadly Weapon (Knife) in the State of Illinois. On June 11, 1998, the Defendant was sentenced for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child nine years of age in the State of Illinois. On March 18, 2008, the Defendant was sentenced for Failure to Register as Sex Offender in the State of Illinois, and despite his criminal history, Stivers was given two years of probation. On September 8, 2020, the Defendant was sentenced for Failure to Register as Sex Offender in the State of Florida, and sentenced to two years in prison. 5 men arrested for online solicitation of minor after sting operation in Kilgore, officials say This case was investigated by the Attorney General's Fugitive Task Force and the United Sates Marshal with Stivers being arrested by the Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘All pictured are dead' written on photos of West Palm Beach officers, police say
A man arrested Wednesday on a second-degree felony charge of written threat to kill allegedly commented on Facebook photos of numerous West Palm Beach Police personnel: 'All pictured are dead,' according to a probable cause affidavit. Bryan Slater, 46, of Palm Beach Gardens, was booked into the Palm Beach County jail on Wednesday, five days after he used a Facebook account with a fake name and a photo of a Polk County deputy who was killed in the line of duty in 2022 as the profile picture to comment the threat on photos of multiple West Palm Beach personnel, the affidavit said. Slater wrote the comment late last Friday night under a post with a photo of Chief Tony Araujo, among others, that had been posted days earlier, according to the affidavit. The photos were of West Palm Beach Police personnel accepting awards and standing next to Araujo at a May 22 banquet in Palm Beach Gardens honoring first responders. On Monday morning, the department's public information officer saw the the threatening comment from an account with the username 'Chris Kyililel' with a profile photo of Polk County Sheriff's Deputy Blane Lane, who was struck by a bullet fired by a fellow deputy while they served a felony arrest warrant in October 2022, and reported it to command staff, according to the affidavit. Facebook records showed the phone number associated with the profile was Slater's, the affidavit said, and Slater after an arrest earlier this year had previously told police that his Facebook account was the 'Chris Kyililel' account. Slater was arrested in April on a stalking charge, Palm Beach County court records show. He provided the same cellphone number in documents related to that arrest as the phone number associated with the Facebook account used to post the threatening comment, according to the affidavit. The State Attorney's Office on Thursday filed a motion seeking to hold Slater in custody while the case is pending, citing that Slater 'poses the threat of harm to the community.' He remained in the jail as of Thursday evening.
