Duchess Camilla Praised For Her Impassioned Speech Against Sexual Violence

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is calling on everyone to come together to stop sexual violence against women.

In the wake of the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa, the 74-year-old wife of Prince Charles gave an impassioned speech Thursday at a reception at the Welcome Trust in London to launch the WOW Foundation's Shameless! Festival.

In her speech, the duchess said a "culture of silence" and feelings of shame led many women to conceal their abuse. She also highlighted the need for both women and men to "truly unite to forge a violence-free world."

"On average, one woman is killed by a man every three days," Duchess Camilla said. "We need to get the men in our lives involved in this movement. We do not, in any way, hold all men responsible for sexual violence. But we do need them all on board to tackle it."

She continued, "After all, rapists are not born, they are constructed. And it takes an entire community – male and female – to dismantle the lies, words and actions that foster a culture in which sexual assault is seen as normal, and in which it shames the victim. So let us all leave here today and try and get the men in our lives to participate in building a 'shameless' society."

The Royal Family Channel shared a clip of Duchess Camilla's speech on TikTok. One online user reposted it to Twitter, writing that the message needs to be heard by everyone and thanking Camilla for bringing attention to a "truly important cause."

Duchess Camilla's passionate speech also received praise from many other Twitter users.

"Great speech and a very important issue," one commented.

"Brilliant speech. [I was] just watching it on London news," another added with thumbs up emoji.

"This is a great program. Good for you, Camilla. Keep on going," a third user wrote.

"Camilla chose such a good topic. Everyone needs to hear this!" a fourth user commented.

The duchess' speech came weeks after 28-year-old London primary school teacher Sabina Nessa was found dead in a park less than five minutes from her home in South London's Greenwich area in September.

In March, 33-year-old Sarah Everard was abducted, raped and murdered by former London police officer Wayne Couzens, who was sentenced to life in prison with no parole late last month.

Shameless! Festival is a one-day event that aims to combine activism and art to confront the attitude toward sexual violence, share different perspectives about the issue and imagine the ideal rape-free world, according to its website.

The event will feature talks by high-profile speakers, survivors, researchers and medical professionals, performances by artists, poets and musicians, interactive workshops, "how to" clinics and wellness spaces.

The guests will include WOW Founder Jude Kelly, author Joanna Bourke, Black Minds founder and U.K. Slam champion Rachel Nwokoro, best-selling author and survivor Winnie M. Li and Everyone’s Invited founder Soma Sara. Poet in residence for the Consent Collective Tanaka Mhishi, authors Laura Bates and Rachel Thompson, Dr. Rabiya Majeed-Ariss and award-winning podcaster Sangeeta Pillai will also make appearances.

The first-ever Shameless! Festival will be held on Nov. 27.