Sarah Everard’s disappearance has made headlines for the past week after going missing on March 8th. She was walking home from her friend’s house in Clapham, and was last caught on a doorbell CCTV camera at around 9pm. On Tuesday night, a serving police officer, who has now been named as Wayne Couzens, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and murder. Last night, human remains were uncovered, suspected to be belonging to Sarah Everard.
In Britain alone, someone is reported missing every 90 seconds. Why has Sarah Everard’s case gripped the nation so immersively? According to a recent UN Women UK survey, 97 per cent of young women in the UK have been sexually harassed, reports The Guardian. Sarah Everard was a young woman, only 33-years-old, who went missing while walking home alone. This is a situation close to home that almost all women can relate to. We could all be Sarah.
Sarah did everything right. She walked on well-lit streets, in bright clothing and running trainers. She had a 15 minute call with her boyfriend on the way home. Then she seemingly vanished into thin air.
The conversation on Twitter
On social media, women are sharing personal experiences and measures they go to in order to stay safe on streets. One tweet with ten thousand likes says, “Like this tweet if, as a woman, you’ve walked home with your keys in your hand in case you need to use them in self defence. If you’ve faked being on the phone as you walk past the man coming towards you. If you’ve changed your route. If you’ve started to run in fear.” One of the replies said, “Girls were taught to hold keys protruding outwards between our fingers.” Another Twitter user said she was taught to shout ‘fire’ if she was ever sexually assaulted because people would care more. Other tweets talked about avoiding gaps in hedges or entrances to alleyways, not wearing headphones, and crossing the road to avoid suspect men.
None of these are things women were born doing. They are the result of fear absorbed from a young age. This is collective trauma which is a result of every single story we’ve heard on the news, in stories, and from friends about sexual harassment. Women’s days end as soon as the sun goes down. If you haven’t walked your dog, or if you’ve been stuck at the desk all day and haven’t made it outside you’ve lost your chance. What’s even more terrifying about this situation is that the suspect is a member of the very institution women look to for safety.
Men are also taking to Twitter to ask what more they can do to make women feel safe walking alone on city streets. There is a long way to go, but the first step is education. “Get home safe” is more than just a pleasantry for women, it’s a necessity.
Sarah is pretty, blonde and fits the Madeleine McCann damsel in distress criteria required to become a famous missing person’s case. But her notoriety goes deeper than that. Her situation is one which every single woman around the UK has either experienced first-hand, or know friends who have been through it.
Safety apps can be on hand
As it stands, there is no law against street harassment in the UK, despite numerous campaigns. There is an app called Hollie Guard which can be downloaded on any smartphone, which can be shaken to alert a trusted contact that you are in trouble along with your location. The app was created after another tragic murder of a young woman. 20-year-old Hollie Gazzard was murdered by her ex boyfriend in 2014 in Gloucester. The app was created by her family to try to prevent incidents like this repeating history. It is championed by many police forces throughout the UK.
In a world where walking is our only freedom right now, this insidious case threatens to trap women inside more than we already are. This is why women in South London have organised a socially distanced vigil at Clapham Common this Saturday, March 13th at 6pm for sunset. This vigil is being spread on social media by the Twitter account @ReclaimTS with the hashtag #reclaimthesestreets; a vigil for all women threatened on our streets.
Last night, #notallmen trended higher than #saraheverard. Yes it’s not all men. But it’s always men.
