Carole Gould, a determined mother from Calne, has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her tireless efforts to tackle male violence.
Carole has been awarded the OBE alongside Julie Devey, fellow co-founder of Killed Women, a group supporting families affected by male violence.
In 2019, Carole’s daughter, 17-year-old Ellie was stabbed to death by her boyfriend, Thomas Griffiths, who later staged the scene to mislead authorities into believing she had inflicted the fatal wounds herself. Griffiths was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 12 years and six months.
Similarly, Julie’s daughter Poppy was 24 when she was killed by her ex-partner, Joe Atkinson, in Leeds in 2018.
Since their daughters' deaths, the mums have campaigned vigorously for tougher sentencing laws, advocating for an increase in the starting tariff for murders in the home from 15 years to 25 years—aligning it with penalties for killings that occur outside the home.
In a joint statement, Carole and Julie expressed their feelings on receiving the OBEs: “By accepting the OBEs, it will continue to shine a light on our campaigning and will keep the many unjust issues surrounding violence against women and girls in the spotlight.
“Getting this far has been really hard and emotionally draining and, of course, will not bring our darling daughters back. But as we learn more and more about the injustices, and more and more families reach out to us, we are fired up to continue our work. A bereaved mother is not to be messed with.”
They highlighted that it is “insulting and disrespectful” to suggest that the lives of women who have suffered such tragedies are worth 10 years less in sentencing.
Their ongoing campaigning aims to highlight the need for systemic change and to honour the memories of their daughters by seeking justice for all victims of male violence.
In a post made on social media Carole said: “Well it’s not everyday you get an OBE and letter from the Queen .
Thank you to everyone for all your kind messages it has been truly humbling .
Bittersweet is the only word to describe all of it xx”
*Family Photo
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