Mother of murdered British diplomat receives new Elizabeth Emblem honor | United Kingdom | News

THE mother of Britain’s only diplomat killed in the line of public duty has pledged to continue her global campaign to end violence against women.

Jane Houng was yesterday presented with the new Elizabeth crest by the King in memory of her daughter Rebecca Dykes.

After Rebecca, 30, was raped and strangled by a taxi driver in Lebanon, Jane designed and promoted a small personal alarm she called Becky’s Button in order to protect other women.

She said the award “strengthens my resolve to continue her legacy,” adding: “I am so honored to receive this emblem on behalf of Becky, who has always been such a caring person.

always such a caring person. Named in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, the silver brooch is given in recognition to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives in the line of public duty, including firefighters and police officers.

It is engraved with the words For a life given in service, and the King presented Jane, 66, with a text bearing Rebecca’s name at Windsor Castle yesterday.

The 30-year-old was killed in December 2017 by a Beirut taxi driver who left Becky’s body in an underpass where it was found early the next day by Lebanese soldiers.

Jane said: “Losing my precious daughter taught me that death is the greatest teacher,” adding that the murder inspired her to fight for lasting change.

She continued: “I have to fight. I have to keep going and I have to keep doing what I can on behalf of my daughter.

“She was a sweet girl with a sunny personality and very easy to raise.

“I want to try to reduce violence against women, support women’s rights, help prevent other mothers from suffering in this way and ensure a safer future for everyone.”

Her mission led her to launch the world’s smallest panic alarm, which she now distributes to vulnerable women around the world.

Jane said the king couldn’t wait to see him. Karim Kattouf, a member of Team Becky’s Button present at the ceremony, said: “He realized its importance and recognized its value.”

Becky’s mother added: “This recognition actually gives us an opportunity to raise the profile of Becky’s Button… It’s an honor and recognition.” This strengthens my resolve to continue his legacy.

Becky worked at the British Embassy in the then Department for International Development, helping Lebanon cope with an influx of people fleeing the conflict in Syria.

During her time there, she oversaw £12 million of UK aid to communities hosting the most vulnerable Syrian and Palestinian refugees.

Her killer, Tariq Houshieh, then 29, was sentenced to execution – but Jane and Becky’s father Philip, a human rights lawyer, opposed the death penalty.

Jane said: “Even though the death penalty in Lebanon has been repealed, Houshieh could be executed at any time. At a minimum, he will already have to serve his entire life in prison, and who are we to take a life?

The government held a memorial service at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, attended by senior politicians including Boris Johnson and Jess Phillips, as well as Penny Mordaunt who said of Becky: “She has changed thousands of lives for the better. And if we judge her life by these achievements, she has realized the value of a lifetime.”

In her grief, Jane took up exercise and yoga, taking part in the Great North Run half marathon.

She recalls: “I could have drunk myself to death after losing Becky, but instead a whole new world opened up to me when I realized I wanted to continue her humanitarian legacy. This has been my lifeline.

It followed a life-changing dream days after his daughter’s murder: “It was a very powerful vision that has never left me. It concerned the fact that she had been raped by the taxi driver but not strangled, and what Becky herself was going to do now with this experience. I knew at that moment that she would tell her story; denounce gender-based violence and become a defender of women’s rights.

In this dream, Jane also envisioned the attack alarm that she believed could have saved Becky, what she calls “a survival tool.”

She vowed to make it a reality and created Becky’s Button.

Jane continued: “It was dark as Becky waited for the taxi to take her home safely from a party, preparing for an early morning flight to the UK for a family Christmas.

“The first thing the taxi driver did was snatch her purse and phone. This happened just 15 steps from a main road.

“If Becky had been wearing a discreet personal security alarm, she could have pressed it.

“Press the alarm. Shock the attacker. She would know it would be a chance to escape.

“In those few precious moments, people would have seen her, and then she would have reported him. »

Jane was determined to work on Becky’s behalf to save other women and, using designers in China, she spent a year developing the device.

She has since paid more than $7,000 to donate it to vulnerable women in refugee camps and other communities around the world – and is looking for collaborators to make it more widely available.

At her home in Petworth, West Sussex, where family photos of Becky and her older sister adorn the sunny yellow walls – a color intended to give Jane a boost each day – she put the plastic device back refillable at the Daily Express.

Pale blue and half the size of a matchbox, it can be clipped into a bra or simply worn around the neck… but when Jane presses the button, a disorienting 125 decibel siren fills the room . She said: “The women received a fantastic welcome during our pilot project in Europe’s largest refugee camp in Greece in 2022.

“Refugee camps are dangerous places for women, and they immediately wanted to wear it. »

A few weeks later, a young woman walking in the dark towards the camp toilets was harassed by four men: “She pressed the alarm and, instead of being raped, other refugees and guards came running. »

Jane reflected: “It was such a powerful result. I tell anyone who can afford a panic button or security alarm to buy one.

Splitting her time between the UK and Hong Kong, where she is a bestselling children’s author, Jane also spends much of the year traveling to displaced and war-torn communities in support of women.

Becky’s Button allows her to access the most vulnerable people in places like Tripoli in Lebanon, one of the most dangerous cities in the world: “Where those who need a panic alarm the most live and who can least afford it.”

Jane is helped by a global team of volunteers, many of whom are university students. The former teacher also runs workshops on gender-based violence to groups including young men.

She believes it is vitally important to influence them with positive messages: “When I received a phone call about Becky, the first thing I thought was that she is not was really unlucky, but I soon discovered that around 80,000 women a year are killed because of femicide. .

“So many families like us have been affected by this outbreak and I have never felt alone because, tragically, there are so many of us. » Jane, a volunteer prison visitor, insists: “Men are not naturally born violent and evil. This is usually what happened to them when they were children. She wants to know more about Becky’s killer: “He came from a dysfunctional background, had been placed in foster care and in prison.

“I think that in order to reduce violent attacks against women, what happens in the prisons themselves is really important. More emphasis should be placed on training programs and psychological support.

“From the beginning, I felt really sorry, not only for my daughter and our family, but also for her family.

“His mother lost her son. It is a tragedy for them as much as it is for us. What is required of me is radical forgiveness – forgiving the unforgivable. When the time comes, I will try to speak to this young man. He ruined his life.

“If he showed remorse, I know I could forgive him.” She also wants to know more about what made Becky choose a career in humanitarian work: “What stood out at Becky’s funeral, from so many of her friends’ stories, was that Becky was so extraordinarily kind.

“I always saw her reading these big books on refugee policy, but I was a businesswoman. It was only after his death that I truly understood his enthusiasm and passion for his profession. The suffering made me aware.

“Knowing that the last time I saw her, at the airport three weeks before she died, I said everything I would have said if I had known it would be the very last time m It also helped me overcome my grief.

• To support Becky’s Button, visit beckysbutton.org and Instagram.com/beckysbutton