Queen meets women leaders at event to address domestic violence
Camilla said it was ‘so important’ for her to attend the event on Wednesday afternoon at Marlborough House in London.
The Queen has met women leaders from across the Commonwealth at an event in London dedicated to addressing domestic violence.
Camilla said it was “so important” for her to attend the event on Wednesday afternoon at Marlborough House focused on safeguarding women and children from domestic violence.
The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Scotland, greeted Camilla as she arrived at the headquarters of the Commonwealth in central London.
Baroness Scotland said one in three women in the world will be affected by domestic violence at some stage in their lives, adding that women were “disproportionately affected” in every form of crisis.
She said that having the support of Camilla was “wonderful”, adding that the Queen had a “great care for people”.
Baroness Scotland, the first woman to serve as attorney general for England and Wales, told the PA news agency: “So many people would like to be silent, and it’s not necessarily a comfortable thing to talk about.
“But Her Majesty has been absolutely adamant that she would be a spokesperson for all those women who think they have no voice.”
She also met the leaders of the Mirabel Centre, Nigeria’s first referral centre to provide free medical and psychosocial support to survivors of rape and sexual assault.
Itoro Eze-Anaba, the founder of the centre, said having the patronage of Camilla had “helped people to speak up” as it brought “credibility” to the centre.
She added that the centre had helped more than 8,200 survivors of rape and sexual assault – with the youngest of the centre’s clients being just three months old and the oldest 82 years old.
Ayotola Jagun, director at the Mirabel Centre, said having the backing of Camilla as patron had “done wonders” for the confidence of the centre’s staff.
Camilla also met Maya Kirti Nanan, the winner of the Commonwealth’s young person of the year award for 2023.
The 20-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago established an autism centre called Rahul’s Clubhouse, named after her brother Rahul who was diagnosed with autism.
The Commonwealth Secretariat said the event at Marlborough House would help form an alliance “engaging all sectors and professions” to work to protect women and children from domestic violence.
It added that it would also help inform the Commonwealth’s strategy at Cop28 to “advocate for the needs and interests of women and girls, including calling for an inclusive loss and damage fund”.
