By KLTV Newsdesk –

The Mayor of Kirklees, leading academics, a survivor-led charity chief and a domestic abuse police sergeant will join survivors and community members at New North Road Baptist Church on Saturday 17 October 2026.

A new Huddersfield community interest company tackling domestic and sexual violence will mark its official launch with an afternoon of talks aimed at breaking the silence around abuse.

Let Us Speak Out CIC will host its Inauguration and Community Awareness Day at New North Road Baptist Church from 1 pm to 6 pm on Saturday 17 October 2026, under the banner “Breaking the Silence”.

The event will bring together survivors, advocates, professionals and community members to confront domestic and sexual violence, including intimate partner sexual violence.

Mayor joins specialist speakers

The afternoon will feature speakers and presenters with expertise spanning local government, academic research, survivor-led support services and policing.

The Mayor of Kirklees, Cllr Karen Allison, is among them. Elected Mayor for 2026/27, Cllr Allison represents the Newsome ward and has dedicated more than two decades to public service in Kirklees.

Dr Steph Ejegi-Memeh, a qualitative researcher at the University of Sheffield, focuses on health inequalities in marginalised populations. Her PhD examined the sexual health and wellbeing needs of older women, and she has hosted Black-focused community events bringing academics and community organisations together.

Dr Beverley Gilbert is a Senior Lecturer in domestic abuse, sexual violence and criminology at the University of Worcester, and founder and lead of Cohort 4, a Queen’s Award-winning women’s peer support organisation. She spent 30 years in the UK criminal justice sector as a police and probation officer, specialising in high-risk, high-harm violence.

Zlakha Ahmed MBE is CEO of Apna Haq, a survivor-led organisation supporting global majority women and girls affected by violence and abuse. She has more than 30 years’ experience shaping services and policy locally, nationally and across Europe, and received her MBE for services to women’s rights and community cohesion.

PS Jo Lukacs, a Domestic Abuse Sergeant within Kirklees, provides leadership and strategic oversight of domestic abuse investigations. She leads a team committed to protecting victims, safeguarding vulnerable people and bringing offenders to justice.

The scale of the problem

Organisers say the event is needed because of how widespread domestic abuse remains.

According to the national charity Refuge, 1 in 4 women in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime.

Let Us Speak Out CIC says people from global majority communities are particularly at risk, pointing to figures showing that 7.1% of people of mixed ethnicity have experienced domestic abuse within the past two years.

The organisation stresses that behind these figures are mothers, daughters, sisters, neighbours, colleagues and friends in the local community.

Backed by church and council

The launch is supported by two sponsors: REACH, based at New North Road Baptist Church, and Kirklees Council.

Since 2001, REACH has offered information and support to asylum seekers and refugees from all backgrounds, providing a safe meeting place, hot meals and signposting to essential services.

Kirklees Council’s Domestic Abuse Strategy 2022–2027 sets out a vision for Kirklees to work together around individuals, families and communities to prevent, respond to and repair the damage caused by domestic abuse.

Let Us Speak Out CIC says the council’s sponsorship of the event shows its active commitment to that vision.

Founder speaks from lived experience

Nwugo Ugada, Founder and Director of Let Us Speak Out CIC, is a domestic abuse specialist whose work is rooted in more than three decades of lived experience as a Nigerian woman and a Master’s degree in Understanding Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Her vision is that knowledge is power, and that healing can begin the moment people choose to speak up.

She said: “Domestic and sexual violence thrives in silence, and too often, victims feel they have nowhere to turn.

“Let Us Speak Out CIC exists to change that to create a community where survivors are believed, supported, and empowered to reclaim their lives.

“This inauguration is not just an event; it is a promise to every survivor in Huddersfield that they will be believed, supported, and empowered to reclaim their lives.”