Queen Camilla Hails Survivors of Abuse as 'Real Heroes'

Queen Camilla has praised Zara McDermott for speaking out about her experience with revenge porn, calling survivors of domestic abuse the "real heroes" in the campaign to end violence against women. The Queen made these remarks while attending the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Summit at Marlborough College in Wiltshire.

Following her meeting with McDermott, a reality star who has become an advocate after being a victim of revenge porn, Queen Camilla emphasized the need for the world to address the growing threat of online abuse. "Technology has brought a whole new dimension to the issue," the Queen stated. "Women are struggling to identify whether they are being abused or not. My speech today is called the 'abuse in our pocket'. Phones bring a new raft of problems, particularly where the lines between the physical and the online world blur."

She added that the current approach of telling victims to simply "delete it, block them" places undue pressure on the victim rather than the perpetrator. "Why should we have to make ourselves so much smaller?" she questioned.

The summit was organized by Lady Lansdowne, one of Queen Camilla's assistants and chair of the Wiltshire branch of an organization dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. The Queen noted her inspiration for her advocacy stemmed from a visit to the charity Safe Lives, where she heard a harrowing account from the best friend of Jo Simpson, who was killed by her estranged husband.

Queen Camilla also lauded Jo's mother, Diana Parkes, for her resilience and advocacy. "She is a fantastic lady," the Queen said. "She lost her beloved daughter and a lot of people would have hidden away... But she got up and got out there and she spoke to people. I have such admiration for her. She survived the ordeal and she survived it by helping others and stopping others from suffering the same fate."

During her address, Queen Camilla stated that survivors who come forward and share their stories are the true heroes. "It's terrifying to get up onto a platform and talk about something so horrific... to stand in front of an audience and talk I just want to applaud them," she said. "Talking is what we have to do. Domestic abuse was a taboo subject and nobody talked about it... Now people are getting up and talking about it. We might be able to put an end to it."

Lady Lansdowne highlighted the collaborative nature of the summit, aiming to bring together various organizations and individuals to address the multifaceted issue of violence against women and girls. She acknowledged that despite ongoing efforts, many women still do not feel safe and victims struggle to be heard and believed. "There are too many times when the system does not join up around the person who needs it most, and then they are failed," Lady Lansdowne remarked. "That's why collaboration matters so much."

The summit focused on listening to different perspectives, examining what is working in national efforts, and identifying areas for improvement in policing and prevention, with a particular focus on new and evolving forms of abuse targeting women and girls. The ultimate goal, as stated by Lady Lansdowne, is to ensure that all efforts contribute to making women and girls safer.