It's hard to not have been affected by the tragic death of Sarah Everard in March 2021. In the throes of the Covid pandemic, the 33-year-old was stopped by off-duty Metropolitan Police constable Wayne Couzens while walking home in London; he kidnapped, raped, and murdered her. Everard's death sparked national anger, grief, and outrage around police violence against women, and women's safety when simply walking home in the dark. Vigils were held, but one on Clapham Common near where she was taken led to a controversial police response and four arrests. Everard's death and the events that followed put women's safety in the headlines. Reclaim These Streets was an organisation set up, with the motto: "We aim to use legislation, education and community action to ensure no woman has to be asked to "Text Me When You Get Home" again." Since March 2021, Sabina Nessa's murder also garnered attention, but according to the Counting Dead Women project via The Independent, 125 women have been killed in the UK since Everard's death to the end of 2022 at the hands of men.
Who is helping?
- The government set up a Women's Safety at Night Fund in November 2021, meaning councils could bid for funding to improve women's safety. This could include anything from drink spiking detection kits, a transport safety campaign, or trained staff to support safe taxi journeys.
- White Ribbon is a charity aiming to get to the root of the problem and educate men to "change long established, and harmful, attitudes, systems and behaviours around masculinity that perpetuate gender inequality and men's violence against women."