Woman runs London Marathon for best friend who was killed by husband at Berkshire home
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton CBE is paying tribute to all the women killed by men in the UK last year
A woman is running the London Marathon in memory of her best friend who was killed by her husband at her Berkshire home.
Refuge’s Chair of Trustees, Hetti Barkworth-Nanton CBE, is paying tribute to all the women killed by men in the UK last year.
Reflecting on her motivation, she said: “The reason I got involved with campaigning around domestic abuse was because my lovely close friend Jo Simpson was killed by her partner in 2010. As a result, I have seen first-hand the devastating consequences of men’s violence against women, and the lifelong impact it has on families and communities.
“As I’m turning 60 next year, I thought it would be amazing to enter this new decade having checked a marathon off my bucket list, but I didn’t want to put in all this effort without using it to make a real difference and generating maximum impact.
“One thing that strikes me repeatedly is that people simply aren’t aware of the shocking number of women who are being killed each year. I think that running the London Marathon could be a powerful way to force this reality into public view, and to reach people who might not otherwise engage with conversations about VAWG.”
The decision to wear a cape, rather than a standard running top, was deliberate. Hetti wanted something impactful that would convey the scale of the crisis:
“I wanted something visually striking – everyone wears a T-shirt, but something this meaningful needs to have so much more impact. I started my training at the end of November knowing there were some women still alive who would be represented on my cape – and that was almost unbearable to comprehend.
“The tragic reality is that the numbers are staggering – far too many to represent on a T-shirt, which really underscores the devastating scale of this issue.”
As well as boosting public awareness, Hetti is also hoping her run will raise vital funds for Refuge at a critical time for frontline services:
“Running the London Marathon with this cape is an incredible chance to spotlight Refuge and raise as much for the charity as possible at a time when frontline services are dangerously underfunded.
“Lifesaving services like Refuge simply do not have the resources they need to meet demand, so this is a critical time for fundraising – made even more acute by the recently published VAWG Strategy, which ultimately fails to deliver any meaningful new funding for frontline services.”