Amy Hunt, whose mother and two sisters were murdered in their home last year, has said the attack was “rooted in misogyny”, calling for radical societal changes to address the “epidemic” of violence against women and young girls.
Amy’s mother, Carol, 61, and sisters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were killed in July by Kyle Clifford, her youngest sister’s former partner.
The three women were the wife and daughters of the BBC racing commentator John Hunt.
Clifford, 26, from Enfield, north London, fatally stabbed Carol after he followed her into her home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, under the pretence he was bringing over some of his former partner’s belongings.
He then waited for Louise to arrive, before raping her and using a crossbow to shoot her and Hannah.
Speaking to the BBC in their first interview since the murders, Amy said: “Violence against women and girls in all its forms … doesn’t have to be as catastrophic as this, because it happens in small ways every single day.
“We’ve got a serious obligation as a society to change men’s behaviour because this is a man’s issue – it’s not a woman’s issue.”
Asked whether Clifford’s attack was fuelled by the social media content of Andrew Tate, whose videos he had watched in the days before the murders, Amy said: “I think it’s ridiculous to say that Kyle Clifford was not capable of murder, watched Andrew Tate, and became capable of murder and rape.
“We live in society that in many cases emboldens misogyny, allows misogyny to fester. It’s not just Andrew Tate, there are many subsets of Andrew Tate on social media.”
Issuing a message to “young women in a troubled relationship”, John Hunt said: “Try and find the strength to extricate yourself from that, because you deserve so much better.”
John called for young boys to begin receiving education about misogyny from as early as nursery.
He said: “I think schools should have far more freedom to explain, get young boys to behave correctly towards women, at the earliest possible age. I mean nursery age.”
John described media reports claiming Louise and Clifford had an “abusive” relationship as “ill-informed” and “off-the-scale inaccurate”.
Amy said Clifford “violated us and our family in the most horrific of ways, but what those stories felt like was a continued violation”.
Reflecting on her mother and sisters, Amy said: “They are the representation of all things good.
“They worked hard, loved hard, had fun, travelled, went and did the things they loved, spent time with the people they loved, were kind, caring, considerate.
“They don’t stop being your sisters, your mum, when they pass away. I’ll always be one of three sisters, we’ll always be a family of five.”
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
