During Friday’s edition of Good Morning Britain, hosts Adil Ray and Kate Garraway engaged in a heartfelt conversation about the soon-to-be-introduced Raneem’s Law, which is named after Raneem Oudeh who was tragically murdered by her ex-partner in 2018, along with her mother.
Adil queried Raneem’s aunt, Nour Norris, on the comfort that the new legislation might offer.
She replied: “It’s not going to bring them back. But at the same time, there are a lot of victims out there who are desperate for help, and they never used to get the help they deserve, just like Raneem.
“But today, hopefully, this hope will bring a light to their lives.”
Nour insisted on the importance of safeguarding as a fundamental right, saying: “We must have that system in place to support and help victims.”
Reflecting on the dialogue with Nour, Kate remarked: “So powerful, the way you put it, and so graceful to have that, because when you hear that call, I feel an overwhelming sense of rage and frustration; I’m sure you do as well, and have done.”
According to the government’s website, Raneem’s Law aims to integrate domestic abuse advisors into emergency control rooms, thus ensuring that victims receive the expert assistance they require, reports the Mirror.
This impactful reform is expected to be implemented within five police jurisdictions in England, including West Midlands, Northumbria, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and Humberside.
An official statement announced: “These domestic abuse specialists will ensure that calls for help are properly assessed.”
Raneem’s Law, a piece of legislation introduced to commemorate the life of 22 year old Raneem who lost her life after making 13 reports about her fears, underscores a tragic failure by the authorities to act. Despite her desperate attempts for help, not a single arrest was made prior to her murder.
In a chilling turn of events in footage shared by GMB, Raneem can be heard calling 999 four times on the night of her death, with police failing to respond in time. During one of these harrowing calls, she told the operator of her plans to return to her mother’s home and to phone them again should her ex-husband show up, expressing her frustration: “That’s the problem when I’m calling, they’re not coming quickly.”
Kate Garraway said hearing the call made her feel “sick” knowing the fatal outcome that would follow. Addressing Raneem’s Law on the programme, MP Jess Phillips highlighted the need for a shift in mentality within emergency call centres: “What we hope to see is a cultural change within the call centres.”
Phillips passionately stated: “What we have to do is look at cases like Raneem’s and read the inquests in these cases and the domestic homicide reviews. For too long, I’ve listened to politicians, police chiefs or whoever it is, say, ‘Lessons will be learned’, then nothing seems to change.”
She added: “They say lessons will be changed until the next case that we hear about. This is a direct response to what we learnt in Raneem’s case, what we have to do is try and find every entry point that a victim of domestic abuse goes to and in this instance, we’re talking about the criminal justice system.”