She Built Safe Spaces for Women — But Wasn’t Safe Herself
On a quiet street in Stoke Newington, the world lost a radiant force for good. Annabel Rook, 46, a champion for women and a tireless advocate for those fleeing violence, was found fatally stabbed in her home on Tuesday morning. The tragedy of her death, believed to be domestic-related, is made all the more painful by the extraordinary life she led and the countless lives she uplifted.
Annabel was not just a charity worker, she was a builder of safe spaces, a cultivator of creativity, and a woman who never stopped believing in the power of art, hope, and human connection. For more than two decades, she devoted herself to helping refugees and women who had fled domestic violence and human trafficking. Her work wasn’t a job, it was a calling.
As co-founder of MamaSuze, Annabel envisioned a community where migrant and refugee women could reclaim joy through art and drama. She brought light and colour into the lives of women who had endured unimaginable darkness. As her team at MamaSuze said, “Annabel was a profound force for good in the world… treating everyone she met with warmth and kindness.”
It is a brutal reminder that even those who fight hardest to protect others are not always protected themselves.
That warmth was her superpower. Her energy, described as “boundless” by those who knew her, lit up rooms and lifted those around her. She was not content to stand on the sidelines. She dove into the work, always shoulder to shoulder with the women she supported. Annabel co-founded the Amies Project under Pan Intercultural Arts, pioneering arts-based recovery programmes for women survivors of modern slavery. Through drama, writing, and song, she helped women find their voices again, voices that were once silenced by violence and oppression.
The Amies Freedom Choir, a choir made up of women trafficked into the UK, became one of the most visible legacies of Annabel’s vision. Their songs, echoing through concert halls and community spaces across the country, are a testament to her belief in collective healing. Annabel knew that when survivors are given tools to express themselves, transformation follows, not just for them, but for the world around them.
John Martin of Pan Intercultural Arts, where Annabel worked for 16 years, remembers her as “a larger-than-life character” who brought joy wherever she went. “Her energy brought a lot to the women and gave them new hope… she transferred her boundless self-confidence to others,” he said.
The loss of Annabel is devastating. It is a brutal reminder that even those who fight hardest to protect others are not always protected themselves. Violence against women continues to steal our brightest lights, and we must not look away.
To honour Annabel’s legacy, we must commit ourselves to the work she so passionately championed, protecting women, supporting survivors, and creating safe, creative, and healing spaces for all.
Her life was a blueprint for how to turn empathy into action. Let it be a call to arms for all of us.
Rest in power, Annabel Rook — artist, activist, mother, sister, friend. You were a lighthouse in the storm. And though you are gone, your light lives on in every woman you helped rise.
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