A group of victims of gender-based violence has criticised Elon Musk for his remarks attacking Jess Phillips, saying the safeguarding minister had “devoted her life to fighting for women and girls”.
In a letter shared with the Guardian the seven women, including three survivors of the Telford sexual abuse scandal, came to the Labour MP’s defence and said that there was “no one in public life who has done more to support victims and survivors and to advocate for their interests”.
Their intervention came after Musk, the billionaire Tesla boss who is in line for a senior role in Donald Trump’s administration, posted on his platform, X, that Phillips should be jailed and called her a “rape genocide apologist”.
His comments came after Phillips rejected a request for a government-led public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. In October, Phillips instructed Oldham council to carry out its own investigation, similar to those set up in Rochdale and Telford.
Three of the letter’s signatories – Holly Archer, Joanne Phillips and Scarlett Jones – are survivors of the grooming scandal in Telford. All three use pseudonyms. The other four signatories – Julie Devey, Carole Gould, Emma Ambler and Nour Norris – have lost a female relative to gender-based violence or have suffered domestic abuse.
In their response to Musk, coordinated by the campaign group Killed Women, the women said that those who “weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain” should “hang their heads in shame”.
Musk, who is the richest person in the world, has used his social media platform X to share false and unsubstantiated claims about Keir Starmer and his government since Labour came to power.
“We write as victims of extreme male violence,” the letter said. “What connects us all beyond our shared trauma is the support and kindness we have received from Jess Phillips over many years, personally and as activists fighting for change.
“We know there are those who would weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain; who speak out with new-found interest, not to tackle the horrendous crimes that stole so much from us, but to further their own agenda. They should hang their heads in shame.
“As campaigners and activists, we fight every day to stop what happened to us or our loved ones happening to anyone else. We stand by Jess, knowing she has devoted her life to fighting for women and girls.”
Rather than conducting a new government inquiry, ministers have said the focus should be on implementing existing recommendations to tackle child exploitation, including those put forward by Prof Alexis Jay in 2022.
On Monday, Jay called for the full implementation of the changes she set out in her report, which warned of “endemic” child abuse across England and Wales.
There have been several inquiries into the grooming scandal, including one by the Greater Manchester combined authority which covered Oldham, although critics said it was too limited in scope. The Conservative government rejected an Oldham councillor’s call for a fresh inquiry in 2022.
• In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org
