Welcome back my avid readers, oh boy have I missed you. I have finally decided it's time to re-emerge from my writer's slump, and it about time my brain is switched on again. To say a lot has happened both in my life and the wider world since then is an understatement. In fact, so much news has been circulating, that I am finding it difficult to pinpoint what it is exactly you all need to know. But I want to focus on a specific topic that I believe is vital for your minds to comprehend. So here it is.
On the 3rd of March 2021, Sarah Everard made her journey home after visiting a friend that night who lived in the Clapham Junction area. When she failed to return home, her boyfriend at the time, reported her missing to the police. Now, unfortunately, both you and I can probably guess the outcome of this story. Which sadly doesn’t involve a reunion. Sarah Everard’s case has sparked a national outcry in the United Kingdom over the violence that women face. It frustrates me, that in this day and age, women are still unable to walk home alone without the fear of being kidnaped, raped, or even murdered. But why is this happening in the twenty-first century? Tell me that.
On the 9th of March, the police made two arrests – Wayne Couzens, a forty-eight-year-old police constable on suspicion of kidnapping, and then a second woman in her thirties. According to the Guardian, it has now come to light that an inquiry has been made against Couzens regarding a separate incident, which the police watchdog is now investigating. The story doesn’t get any better from there, as on Wednesday 10th March, the police discovered bodily remains in a wooded area located in Ashford Town in Kent. It was then later confirmed, through dental records, that the remains found were those belonging to Sarah Everard.
You are probably thinking why I chose to share Sarah’s story when there are thousands of women who have experienced the same fate. So, I’ll tell you why.
To put it simply, there is no change. Nothing. Nothing at all. Nobody is doing anything to help, because if they were then these incidents would be declining. But in fact, the opposite is happening. As Sarah’s case progressed, women across the UK inundated social media with posts describing their own experiences of walking the streets, with many recording incidents when they had been catcalled, followed, or even harassed. Not only this, but on Saturday 13th March, several hundred people gathered at Clapham Common to mourn Sarah Everard, despite the event being cancelled due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Protesters and police clashed at the event, which resulted in the event ending in violence, with many women being handcuffed, shoved, and carried away. The police’s handling of the event invited criticism from across the political spectrum, with Britain’s Home Secretary Priti Patel calling video footage from the rally “upsetting”. The events at the vigil, and the fact that a serving police officer has been charged with Everard’s murder, have prompted fresh calls for institutional change and reform within the police, and the way that society addresses the issue regarding violence against women.
Even I have been scared to walk home alone even in broad daylight. And I am certain that many of you have experienced similar feelings. After we hear stories, like those similar to Sarah's, society's immediate reaction is to pass the blame and start distributing questions. “Why was she walking home alone anyway?” “Why was she out at that time, especially in the dark?” Even the classic one: “What was she wearing?”.
These are all irrelevant! We shouldn’t be educating women on what they can do, instead, we should be educating everyone else. I say we start by teaching society the basic things, such as knowing; not to wolf whistle at a woman as she walks by, not to walk two feet behind a woman as she walks alone, not to objectify a woman in any way shape, or form. We shouldn’t have to teach these basic principles to anyone, you’d think it’s just common sense. But the fact that there are still people out there that don’t understand this, just proves how much change is needed.
Who knows, in fifty years we may still be addressing the same problems, still aimlessly trapped in this continuous cycle of no change. But hopefully, that won’t be the case. It's the challenges to the issue that ignites reform, no matter how small. So, share Sarah’s story. Again, and again and again. It’s time to get the fire started. Even if it’s just a flame.