A Swindon woman who lost her sister to domestic homicide is calling for the government to enforce stricter sentencing laws.  

Emma King is part of the Killed Women organisation, made up of the families of women who have been tragically murdered in domestic homicides, in memory of her sister Julie Butcher who was killed by her estranged husband in 2005.

On average, perpetrators who kill in the home receive a minimum prison term of around ten years less than those who kill outside the home.

The group are campaigning for the Labour government to honour the previous Conservative government’s pledge to increase domestic homicide sentencing to 25 years.

They have launched black and blue plaques with the names of murdered women and their killers’ sentences, which read: “The same murder outside the home would get a decade more.”

Emma, who also founded the Swindon Sisters Alliance to support domestic violence victims, said: “It’s so sad because Julie was the most precious person; she was so strong. She tried to leave and now all we have is a plaque. I know my sister would want to help people to leave so that’s why we do it - to keep her name in the public eye.

(Image: Killed Women) "Every day there’s someone new and Julie would just be a number and statistic, but to us, she’s our whole world. The plaque will be going in our Gorse Hill shop.

“In our eyes, it’s not fair their lives are worth 10 years less, we’re calling on the government to review sentencing so it’s equal to those who lose their lives in a different location - just because it’s behind closed doors doesn’t mean their life is worth less.

“To family members, no amount of time could bring them back and getting 10 years less is quite damaging to our recovery. For 19 years I used to say ‘Why is her life worth less than someone else’s?’"

She added: “Julie’s death put us on a path that we didn’t choose, I would have loved to have not set [Swindon Sisters Alliance] up because I’d rather my sister be here, but in the aftermath of everything we’ve been through as a family, it was time to voice that journey and give something positive back to the Swindon community.

“We’re so committed and passionate and that’s one of the reasons I stayed in Swindon, I nearly had to leave myself like our clients who have had to hide away their past, but I’m all for chasing those fears and chasing those hard topics that people don’t want to approach.”