Latest news with #Raneem'sLaw
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'I'm haunted by 999 call played in court - I still play it to myself'
Nour Norris has implemented new law supported by MP Jess Phillips calling for a specialist police response to victims of domestic violence after the murders of her niece and sister who died while on the phone to West Midlands Police Presenting a Special Recognition Award to a woman whose campaigning changed the law after the murder of her sister and niece, Jess Phillips revealed she is haunted by the sound of their screams. Nour Norris' older sister Khaola Saleem, 49, and niece Raneem Oudeh, 22, were stabbed to death by the younger woman's ex partner Janbaz Tarin, 21, in a frenzied knife attack on August 27 2018 - after police failed to respond to their pleas for help. A supporter of The Mirror's Justice For Our Daughters campaign, Nour is finally seeing the positive effects of Raneem's Law - calling for a specialist police response to victims of domestic violence - for which she has lobbied tirelessly. She was backed by MP for Birmingham's Yardley, Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls, who lives less than a mile away from Khaola's home in Solihull, where the mother and daughter were killed, after making four 999 calls that night. READ MORE: 'My boyfriend almost beat me to death but I was so under his control it took me years to break free' Raneem had made four 999 calls that night before the police called her back. While on the phone to the call handler she was killed. Speaking at this week's True Crime Award s in London, where Nour was honoured for her campaigning, Ms Phillips recalled hearing audio of the final call when she was killed, saying: "I'll never forget as long as I live. 'Sometimes I'll listen to it again to remind myself of the sound of what was played in the court in the inquest - her voice on the call - and just how badly the call was handled. 'It is devastating to listen to, and through that one bit of audio it was immediately clear that this is the thing we are going to have to change.' Since that harrowing audio was played at the inquest into their deaths in 2022, Jess has worked alongside Nour to deliver Raneem's Law - embedding domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms, with the aim of providing better support for victims. It is now live in five police forces - West Midlands, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Northumberland, and Humberside - with hopes to roll out across the country as soon as possible. Praising Nour for channelling her loss into bringing about meaningful change for domestic abuse victims, at the event at Hilton London Bankside, Ms Phillips vowed: 'We won't stop until every victim gets the protection they deserve.' A longtime campaigner for victims of domestic violence, Jess spoke of her heartbreak that, as a local MP, she did not know of the mother and daughter's trauma until it was too late. 'Their deaths were avoidable,' she said. 'Not just on the night - there were nine other times Raneem called the police. I feel like if I had known them before, they would still be alive. If they had somebody like me advocating for them. " Mistakes made by West Midlands Police "materially contributed" to their deaths, the inquest heard. Members of the force had previously responded to 10 domestic abuse incidents linked to violence at Tarin's hands, and five officers were subsequently disciplined over its failings. On the day they died, Tarin spent hours searching for Ms Oudeh and her mother before the double-murder. Raneem and Khaola had been at Nour's home just hours before the murder. She told The Mirror: 'I was very worried for them. I made lots of food so they would stay. I just wanted them to stay with me. I knew he (Tarin) was harassing them, but not how bad things had got - my sister and niece never said. But I had a horrible feeling in my heart.' Referring to the harrowing 999 calls, she added: 'The police heard my niece screaming as she was attacked.' Describing how her sister tried to save her daughter, she continued: 'My sister did what the police should have done that day, and her life was taken. "After Raneem's first and second call ( to the police) he (Tarin)realised he could get away with it. He told her 'they listen to me so why are they going to believe you?" 'He was never arrested or cautioned. It's very painful and frustrating to know if the calls had been taken seriously, they would be still here.' Raneem, who fled to the UK in 2013 from war-torn Syria, had been issued a restraining order, which Tarim repeatedly violated, leaving Raneem terrified for her and her family's lives, as he made threats to kill them. In December 2018, he was jailed for a minimum of 32 years, for what officers described as the "brutal murder of two defenceless ladies by a man who had spent the day hunting them down". Now Ms Phillips hopes the embedding of domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms will help to save lives. She said: 'It should mean that when a victim like Raneem makes that brave call for help they receive an immediate and expert response." The True Crime Awards, partnered by I-ME, were established to celebrate content being produced across the true crime genre - bringing together creators as well as those affected by crime who have gone to campaign for legal improvements. Previous recipients include Marie McCourt MBE for delivering Helen's Law - denying killers parole for failing to tell the location of their victims' remains - after her daughter Helen was killed after vanishing near their home in St Helens, Merseyside in 1988. The Mirror's Justice For Our Daughters campaign, which has called for a number of changes to protect victims of domestic violence. Justice For Our Daughters Demands 1 Longer sentences for domestic abuse killers Under current laws if a murderer has brought a weapon to a scene with intent to kill, he or she would expect to be jailed for 25 years. However, if you kill someone with a weapon already at the scene the starting point is 15 years. The law should be updated so these domestic violence killers receive 25 years too. 2 Longer sentences for murder by strangulation A quarter of domestic homicides are by strangulation. The law should be updated so that when someone is fatally strangled the method of killing is regarded as an aggravating factor and carries a longer sentence. 3 Domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms For victims of domestic abuse to be given immediate access to trained specialists in police control rooms, in line with Labour's pledge. 4 Domestic abusers to face manslaughter charges if victims take their own lives Coercive control and abuse perpetrators should face legal consequences in line with the suffering they have cause..
BBC News
07-04-2025
- BBC News
Northamptonshire Police to run domestic abuse 999 pilot
A force has been chosen to pilot a new service, set up following the murders of a mother and daughter by the younger woman's Police will have domestic abuse specialists in its 999 control room as part of an initiative known as Raneem's Law to improve police response to domestic Law was set up by the Home Office following the murders in 2018 of Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem by Ms Oudeh's force introduced a similar scheme in 2021 and said it was "hugely effective". One of the specialists, Cerri Glynane, said people who used the service "can know that there is hope and there will be a change that can happen."Janbaz Tarin, from Sparkhill, in Birmingham, hunted the two women down after Ms Oudeh broke up with him because he had a secret wife and children in Independent Office of Police Conduct found that the police had failed to carry out satisfactory intelligence checks when Ms Oudeh reported her husband's scheme in 2021 involved crisis advisors working in control rooms and dealing with incidents as they come in, as well as going out with police officers to incidents that were under way. The advisors also went to scheduled appointments. Cerri Glynane has been in the Northamptonshire control room since said: "We're ensuring that we're giving extra information to the police if [the victim is] known to us, what the history is, what the risks are, because we could hold information that's been known to us previously that the police might not know."We can say 'we're really concerned now about the risks posed to that person' and the action we feel would be suitable for the police to take."She said the service offered victims "emotional support", adding: "Those people have been living in fear for such a long time, not knowing that there is a way out." Det Supt Joe Banfield said: "We are delighted to have been chosen as a pilot force for Raneem's law."He said the independent specialist advisors in control rooms had "already proved to be hugely effective, and through the Raneem's Law pilot, we are able to increase the support being offered, safeguard more victims and hopefully prevent repeated abuse". Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Jess Phillips honours femicide victims and says Government will ‘push harder'
Jess Phillips has pledged the Government will 'go further and push harder' as she read in Parliament the names of women killed by men in the past year. It is the 10th year the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley has honoured victims of femicide, this year being her first to do so as the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls. Ms Phillips was responding to the annual International Women's Day debate where a number of MPs discussed their own experiences with rape, sexual assault, pregnancy, miscarriage and other issues faced by women. Prior to reading the names, Ms Phillips said: 'Last year I said that I felt tired and angry and weary. I was sick of the failures. 'But as I stand here today on the front bench, placed here by a Prime Minister inspired to action, who mentioned the reading of the list in the very first ever speech he made from this despatch box as the Prime Minister, alongside a Home Secretary and a flight of brilliant ministers who are totally dedicated to this, I feel hopeful.' As she read the list of names, those in the public gallery rose to their feet and many in the chamber became tearful. After commemorating the women, she said: 'This is a fight that demands the very best from all of us, and we must rise to the occasion. Under this Government, this issue will get the attention that it deserves. 'We will keep honouring and celebrating women as we build a society in which they are respected and protected, and we will back up our words with action as we seek real and lasting change, undeterred by those who sit on the sidelines while the list of names grows longer.' Ms Phillips highlighted that one in five homicides in the UK are domestic homicides, referring to Raneem's Law brought in by the Government in memory of Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem, who were murdered by Raneem's ex-husband in August 2018. She said: 'We must act now and be relentless in chasing the change. Many have mentioned today Raneem's Law that the Government have brought in to embed specialists in 999 control rooms. 'And I hope that this shows how important this list, the issue of women killed, is to this Government, how it drives our actions because I read out the names of Raneem Oudeh and Khaola Saleem, her mother, on the years that they were killed.' The minister also said the Government is seeking to 'push forward massively on stalking laws', and that too many women have died 'because we didn't take stalking too seriously'. 'One of the things the Government will do is allow people to know the identity of their online stalkers which currently isn't the case and is based on the case of (former Coronation Street actress) Nicola Thorp,' Ms Phillips said. 'I'm going to call it Nicola's Law because I want to start having laws for women who didn't die. 'We must go further and push harder.' Opening the debate, Labour former minister Dawn Butler appealed to men and boys at risk of 'turning to the far-right' or becoming incels to change their behaviour and play a positive role in society. The MP for Brent East questioned how it can still be the case that a woman is killed every three days by a man in the UK, saying: 'Of course there's a place for straight white men and boys and a very important role for them to play in society, and we will hear a lot today that one woman is killed every three days and 97% of them are killed by men, the majority of them white. 'So if we want to protect women we need to reach out to those men – the ones that are informed, the ones that are kind, the ones that are loving – and we need to say that we need you now more than ever before. 'Because right now there are some serious, toxic, misogynistic men and some of them stray and they are harming women, they are harming society, they are harming gay people, they are harming black people and this is the very foundation of which we live and we need to say 'no'.' Concluding the debate Ms Butler became choked up, saying she felt 'more emotional than normal'. She said: 'I fear that things are going to get worse. I fear that that list is going to get longer because we are at that tipping point, and if we don't stop what's going on globally around the world, if we don't call it out, it will get worse.' Ms Phillips has also pledged that the Government's violence against women and girls strategy, expected to be published in the summer, will include action specifically addressing the root causes of abuse including 'underlying behaviours held by some men and boys'. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said 'a line has been crossed' when the safeguarding minister became the target of misogynistic abuse online after US billionaire Elon Musk described her as a 'rape genocide apologist'.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jess Phillips honours femicide victims and says Government will ‘push harder'
Jess Phillips has pledged the Government will 'go further and push harder' as she read in Parliament the names of women killed by men in the past year. It is the 10th year the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley has honoured victims of femicide, this year being her first to do so as the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls. Ms Phillips was responding to the annual International Women's Day debate where a number of MPs discussed their own experiences with rape, sexual assault, pregnancy, miscarriage and other issues faced by women. Prior to reading the names, Ms Phillips said: 'Last year I said that I felt tired and angry and weary. I was sick of the failures. 'But as I stand here today on the front bench, placed here by a Prime Minister inspired to action, who mentioned the reading of the list in the very first ever speech he made from this despatch box as the Prime Minister, alongside a Home Secretary and a flight of brilliant ministers who are totally dedicated to this, I feel hopeful.' As she read the list of names, those in the public gallery rose to their feet and many in the chamber became tearful. After commemorating the women, she said: 'This is a fight that demands the very best from all of us, and we must rise to the occasion. Under this Government, this issue will get the attention that it deserves. 'We will keep honouring and celebrating women as we build a society in which they are respected and protected, and we will back up our words with action as we seek real and lasting change, undeterred by those who sit on the sidelines while the list of names grows longer.' Ms Phillips highlighted that one in five homicides in the UK are domestic homicides, referring to Raneem's Law brought in by the Government in memory of Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem, who were murdered by Raneem's ex-husband in August 2018. She said: 'We must act now and be relentless in chasing the change. Many have mentioned today Raneem's Law that the Government have brought in to embed specialists in 999 control rooms. 'And I hope that this shows how important this list, the issue of women killed, is to this Government, how it drives our actions because I read out the names of Raneem Oudeh and Khaola Saleem, her mother, on the years that they were killed.' The minister also said the Government is seeking to 'push forward massively on stalking laws', and that too many women have died 'because we didn't take stalking too seriously'. 'One of the things the Government will do is allow people to know the identity of their online stalkers which currently isn't the case and is based on the case of (former Coronation Street actress) Nicola Thorp,' Ms Phillips said. 'I'm going to call it Nicola's Law because I want to start having laws for women who didn't die. 'We must go further and push harder.' Opening the debate, Labour former minister Dawn Butler appealed to men and boys at risk of 'turning to the far-right' or becoming incels to change their behaviour and play a positive role in society. The MP for Brent East questioned how it can still be the case that a woman is killed every three days by a man in the UK, saying: 'Of course there's a place for straight white men and boys and a very important role for them to play in society, and we will hear a lot today that one woman is killed every three days and 97% of them are killed by men, the majority of them white. 'So if we want to protect women we need to reach out to those men – the ones that are informed, the ones that are kind, the ones that are loving – and we need to say that we need you now more than ever before. 'Because right now there are some serious, toxic, misogynistic men and some of them stray and they are harming women, they are harming society, they are harming gay people, they are harming black people and this is the very foundation of which we live and we need to say 'no'.' Concluding the debate Ms Butler became choked up, saying she felt 'more emotional than normal'. She said: 'I fear that things are going to get worse. I fear that that list is going to get longer because we are at that tipping point, and if we don't stop what's going on globally around the world, if we don't call it out, it will get worse.' Ms Phillips has also pledged that the Government's violence against women and girls strategy, expected to be published in the summer, will include action specifically addressing the root causes of abuse including 'underlying behaviours held by some men and boys'. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said 'a line has been crossed' when the safeguarding minister became the target of misogynistic abuse online after US billionaire Elon Musk described her as a 'rape genocide apologist'.
The Independent
21-02-2025
- The Independent
How Raneem Oudeh's death led to change in how police support domestic abuse victims
The murder of a woman and her mother has prompted a change in the law that will domestic abuse specialists embedded in 999 control rooms across some police forces. The pilot comes after Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem were murdered by Ms Oudeh's ex-husband Janbaz Tarin. He was jailed for life in December 2018 with a minimum term of 32 years. On the night she was killed, Ms Oudeh called West Midlands Police four times over safety concerns, and the force had previously responded to 10 domestic abuse incidents linked to the case. Five officers were disciplined over the failures. Raneem's Law was established in memory of Ms Oudeh and Ms Saleem after calls for changes in legislation.
