Sarah Everard
(Picture: Met Police)The anniversary of Sarah Everard’s murder at the hands of serving Met police officer Wayne Couzens is likely to be a painful one for Londoners, as people cast their minds back 12 months ago. What felt like a watershed moment for tackling misogyny and violence against women has become to feel like a missed opportunity for some, as we are yet to see the kind of societal changes needed.
“We are more aware of the scale of the problem. But in practical terms, measures to actually protect women, improve policing or tackle perpetrators are pretty thin on the ground,” says MP for Walthamstow Stella Creasy, a leading voice in the fight to see misogyny made a hate crime.
On Monday MPs voted against making misogyny a hate crime as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill but the Home Office has announced that it is including violence against women and girls in the Strategic Policing Requirement — giving it the same priority level as terrorism.
Many campaigners feel that too many of the solutions being put forward currently – such as increased street lighting and apps that track your location – put too much emphasis on women to keep themselves safe, rather than getting to the root of the problem.
“It is absurd and deeply offensive that the police should be telling women to flag down buses and carry drink testing kits instead of recognising their own institutional failings,” Laura Bates of Everyday Sexism has said.
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