Tributes paid to courage of rape victim campaigner Jill
HUNDREDS of mourners gathered yesterday to pay tribute to vicarage rape victim Jill Saward.
Jill, 51, died in her husband’s arms this month after a stroke.
She was the first rape victim to waive her anonymity, campaigning for changes to legislation, policy and attitudes after she was attacked by two men in a burglary at her father’s vicarage in Ealing, west London, in 1986.
Her husband Gavin, 46, and sons Myles, 22, Rory, 20, and Fergus, 18, were joined at Lichfield Cathedral, in Staffordshire, by some 300 people, many wearing purple to represent victims of sexual violence,. Jill’s twin, Sue Lancaster, said: “There are many people alive today because of what she did. She has gone far too soon and we will all miss her.” Husband Gavin said the lyrics of the song Bread of Life helped her overcome the trauma of 1986. Jill had said of the song: “I sing the words quietly to myself every time I wake up.” She was born in Liverpool and the service finished with the city’s anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone.