William Hague Visits Chiswick School

The former Foreign Secretary tells students he wants more action to tackle violence against women

Former Foreign Secretary William Hague visited Chiswick School today (Dec 12) to talk on the topic of violence against women and girls.

He was joined for his talk to Year 11 and Year 12 students, by local MP Mary Macleod.

(l-r) Tony Ryan, headteacher Chiswick School, with Mr. Hague, Head Boy Alfie Howell, Head Girl Clemmie Rampley, and Mary Macleod MP

Earlier this year, Mr. Hague along with Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for refugees, hosted the first Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London.

He told the students from Chiswick School about the progress they have made, which was timely, given this week’s publication of the formal report from the event. The summit was successful in agreeing a number of practical steps to tackle impunity for the use of rape as a weapon of war, and has begun to change global attitudes to these crimes.

Mr Hague went on to discuss abuse closer to home with 2 women a week currently being killed as a result of domestic abuse in the UK. It was discussed how this abuse is often hidden from public view for months to years before it becomes public knowledge.

Mr Hague commented: “It was a pleasure to speak to students from Chiswick School today about tackling violence against women and girls – a subject that I am passionate about. I am delighted that the Headteacher Tony Ryan and his staff are addressing this issue so directly. The students I met today demonstrated an impressive understanding of this serious issue and asked very thought-provoking and challenging questions. Mary is taking the lead on this across London and I am very happy to support her great work.”

Mary Macleod also spoke about violence against both sexes when she discussed her London-wide Domestic Abuse Campaign. She is working with the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime on a mission to make London a zero-tolerance capital for domestic abuse. Earlier this year, Mary also hosted a London Domestic Abuse Summit attended by the Home Secretary, Rt Hon Theresa May MP, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, the Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner and domestic violence charities. Mary commented:

“I am determined to tackle domestic abuse wherever it occurs. Two women per week are killed at the hands of a partner or former partner and this has to stop. It is so important to get the message across to the next generation that abuse in relationships will not be tolerated. I am extremely grateful to Tony Ryan and the students at Chiswick School for welcoming this debate and helping with this campaign.”

The session ended with an open question/answer session where Chiswick School students pushed both MPs on a number of topics related to the topic in hand. The depth of the questions clearly showed how interested students are in ensuring that this generation learns from the mistakes made by those preceding them. It was accepted that the campaign would take time to make the desired difference but it should start with education as a means of prevention.

Tony Ryan, headteacher ended by thanking the students for their participation and both William Hague and Mary Macleod for providing Chiswick students with the opportunity to discuss such an important issue.

December 14, 2013