Women’s group praise ‘brave’ Southport trainer

A women’s charity has praised the yoga instructor who was seriously injured during a stabbing in Southport this summer because she was “so brave” after recently speaking publicly for the first time about her experiences.

Leanne Lucas was supervising a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class in the Merseyside city on July 29 when a knifeman entered and murdered three girls. He attacked eight other girls and a local man who came to save them with a knife.

Ms Lucas, who was trying to protect two girls from the knifeman, suffered serious knife wounds.

on a vigil Last month in Liverpool to remember the women and girls who have lost their lives to male violence, she said: “The guilt, shame and fear we may feel as women are tempered by courage, fierceness and our ability to connect. Will be reduced by.”

Addressing the crowd, she said, “Raise your voices and share your stories. Often we don’t realize how powerful we are.”

Sandy Withey, who is with the Birkenhead-based Tomorrow’s Women charity, described Ms Lucas’s actions as “very brave and courageous”.

She added, “I admire people like that – to have that happen to them recently and then to stand up to those people and let people know there is help out there.”

Since 2009, 74 women and girls have been murdered in Merseyside, leading to the highest rates of violence by men against women and girls in England.

High-profile cases involving stabbings ava whiteWho was just 12 years old when she was attacked by a boy at the Christmas lights switch-on event in 2021.

Other victims include a nine-year-old child Olivia Pratt-Corbel28 year old ashley daleand 26 year old elle edwardsWhich was shot on Christmas Eve 2022.

The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Merseyside (RASA) charity, which was involved in the vigil in Liverpool in November, believes it is important to keep the issue of violence against women and girls in the public eye.

Operations manager Lorraine Wood said: “The names of all the women who have lost their lives are read out and the number is increasing every year.”

“It’s really important that we come together regularly to remember those women – those women should never be forgotten.”

Violence against women and girls has been described as a national emergency by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

In January, Liverpool will join other cities taking part in the UK Women’s March for the first time.

Among other things, it will highlight and condemn the increase in violence against women and girls.

Merseyside Police said tackling this is a priority for the force and officers are putting women’s voices at the heart of their work.