Murder victim's family hosting active bystander event

Hollie Gazzard was murdered in 2014

A ground-breaking conference is being hosted by the family of a woman who was murdered by her partner.

Hollie Gazzard, 20, was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend while working in Gloucester.

In her memory, Hollie's family set up The Hollie Gazzard Trust, which is now hosting one of the UK's first active bystander conferences at Hartpury University on Wednesday.

Hollie's father Nick said: "We want as many individuals as possible to be aware of what an active bystander is and how powerful they can be to help intervene in a safe manner."

The conference will teach people how to intervene if witnessing bullying at school or work, experiencing harassment in public, observing discrimination or noticing domestic abuse.

Mr Gazzard said the movement was already "gathering momentum", and he hoped having more active bystanders would make our "communities safer".

"The golden rule is you've got to do it safely and use the right technique so you can only do that if you've been trained," he said.

Hollie had ended a relationship with her abusive ex-boyfriend Asher Maslin shortly before he stabbed her to death in 2014.

Since her death, her family has raised more than £2m to promote awareness of domestic abuse.

The family has campaigned to educate young people in schools, and have told her story all over the world for the last 10 years.

"Every time we deliver training, every time we deliver updates to the app and we get that feedback from people to say 'you've helped save my life' or 'you've allowed me to go out again for the first time because I don't feel so scared', it gives you that warm feeling in your stomach that we're doing the right thing.

"Hollie's making a huge difference to people's lives 10 years after she lost her own," Mr Gazzard previously said.

The Hollie Gazzard Trust was set up by Hollie's parents, Nick and Mandy, and her sister, Chloe, in the wake of her death.

On Wednesday, participants will have the opportunity to hear from leading industry and academic experts, encouraging a culture of intervention and support, to stand up against harassment, abuse, and violence.

The conference aims to highlight that when people are active bystanders they signal to the perpetrator that their actions are unacceptable.

A trust spokesperson said: "Constant reinforcement of these messages within our communities can shift the boundaries of what is considered acceptable behaviour."

The conference will delve into the four stages of intervention, shedding light on the reasons why individuals sometimes refrain from intervening, drawing from social psychological theory and social norms theory.