Centre for Women’s Justice, have been working with Nevres Kemal, to develop a paid internship programme in her daughter, Azra’s name. Azra was an inspiring and much-loved young woman and we are incredibly grateful that her mother chose CWJ to help memorialise her daughter’s life. The internship project had been commenced before Nevres received the horrifying further news of her daughter’s desecration.
The team at CWJ are shocked and angered to hear of how Azra had been violated, following her death, by David Fuller, now on trial for the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce. The pain and the fury that all the families of his victims must be feeling, cannot be imagined.
The depths of degradation and violent misogyny to which men will go usually without detection of punishment, will sadly rarely fail to shock. Not only did Fuller take the lives of two young women, Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce, but he was able to sexually violate the recently deceased bodies of 80-100 women and girls with the youngest victim just nine years old. Those actions were a crime of violence not only to the bodies of the dead, but to their bereaved loved ones. It is clear that women and girls are never safe from male violence, even in death.
A proper inquiry must now take place to explore how Fuller was able to continue perpetrating these appalling acts over such a long period of time. Necrophilia, or penetration of a corpse, first became an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 The maximum sentence for this crime is just 2 years. It is now time for a more open dialogue, however shocking, about this offence and how it can be prevented.
We applaud Nevres Kemal’s courage in speaking out and stating that there is no shame to Azra or to herself in speaking of violation. The shame resides in Fuller and the Chief Executive of the NHS Trust who failed to prevent his actions.
The Azra Kemal Legal Internship Programme is aims to address the underrepresentation of Black, Asian and minoritized women in the legal profession. This programme is funded purely by donations. If you would like to support the programme and help it make it a lasting legacy please visit https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/azra-kemal/
Azra Kemal’s mother, Nevres, gave an interview to Sky News which can be seen here https://news.sky.com/story/my-daughter-was-violated-mother-of-woman-raped-in-mortuary-by-necrophile-david-fuller-speaks-out-12459678