Edinburgh Arthur's Seat murder: Victim's mother backs campaign to look at other cases where women die in falls

Many incidents where women fall from height not fully investigated

The mother of Arthur's Seat murder victim Fawziyah Javed is backing a campaign calling for cases where women died falling from heights to be examined by police to see if domestic violence was involved.

The organisation Killed Women claims there could be as many as 130 "hidden homicides" because deaths which result from falling from a height are often not investigated. Its "Fallen Women" campaign urges police forces to make domestic abuse a key line of inquiry in all such cases.

The campaign coincides with the screening of a Channel 4 documentary on the killing of 31-year-old lawyer Fawziyah Javed by her husband Kashif Anwar, who pushed her from Arthur's Seat in September 21. He is serving a life sentence after being convicted of her murder, largely due to evidence built up by Fawziyah before she died.

Fawizyah Javed with her parents Mohammed and Yasmin

She had twice logged incidents of domestic abuse with the police and also recorded conversations with Anwar in which he was abusive to her. And as she lay dying on Arthur's Seat she used her last words to tell people on the scene that her husband had pushed her.

Backing the new campaign, Fawziyah's mother Yasmin Javed said: "Last year when I joined Killed Women this information came to light, which is extremely worrying, over women who have died in similar circumstances, not being able to give a testimony and their murderers are walking about free.

“Domestic abusers will continue to get away with murder if we don’t ensure the cases of so-called fallen women are rigorously investigated by authorities. We must have a system that delivers justice for these women.

“The conviction will never heal the grief of losing our beautiful Fawziyah, but we are campaigning to ensure that all those who murder women in this way are held to account.”

Ms Javed said she knew one family who were not satisfied with the police response to their daughter's death, feeling it was not treated with the seriousness it deserved. She said the police had not listened when the family suggested there was a history of abuse.

"If you're asking the authorities to look into this as a suspected murder and they're not listening, then it's like they're banging their heads on a brick wall. The authorities need to take notice, especially when there is a history of abuse."

Killed Women used Freedom of Information legislation to ask all 44 UK police forces how many incidents there had been of women falling from a height since 1973. Only two provided data. Police Scotland said there had been 10 homicides involving women falling from height, while Humberside said there were seven incidents between 2017 and 2023.

Criminologist Professor Jane Monckton Smith used the information to estimate that there are around 130 primarily female victims killed every year whose deaths are not investigated or prosecuted as homicides.

Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, said: “I strongly support the fallen women campaign to shine a light on this hidden issue.

“Police, forensic specialists and the whole justice system must look seriously at the wider context to these deaths, taking the time to understand any history of domestic abuse, and join the dots.”