Kentish Express Ashford & District
Don’t turn blind eye to violence
A former professional boxer and property tycoon has launched a campaign to stamp out domestic violence.
Fergus Wilson, who with his wife Judith owns hundreds of properties in Ashford, is calling on the community to pull together to help restore chivalry while making it socially unacceptable to beat women.
The eccentric 67-year-old hopes his year-long Stop Domestic Violence campaign will put an end to a crime which he sees as becoming more prevalent.
He wants people to not turn a blind eye and thinks there should be more have-a-go heroes who intervene.
He said: “More and more frequently I turn up at properties I own to see holes in doors the same size and shape of a woman’s head. It’s a problem which should not exist in today’s soci- ety, but from my experience is more common than ever.
“Real men don’t beat women. As in boxing, heavyweights should stick to heavyweights, flyweights to flyweights and men to men.
“When those responsible for these acts go down the pub and meet their mates they should be shunned. It’s only by making it a complete taboo that we can drive this issue out of society.”
The multi-millionaire landlord added: “As has happened on a number of occasions, if I see a man harassing a woman I will step in, I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t. But I think there is a trend nowadays to walk past any trouble and avoid confrontation.”
Mr Wilson, who l i ves i n Boughton Monchelsea near Maidstone, fears due to the very low conviction rate and lack of women coming forward, the public may not see domestic violence as a widespread and serious issue.
His comments come just days after a UN report criticised the UK’s inconsistent and incoherent approach to tackling violence against women.
In our story last week (‘Eccentric’ millionaire is not allowed to keep guns) we reported that Mr Wilson was ordered to pay £25,000 court costs. The correct figure was £2,500.