In memory of Sarah Everard

(content warning: sexual assault, murder, police brutality)

In light of recent events surrounding the death of Sarah Everard, we want to add our voice to the huge number of people that have been demanding justice, and a call for action to provide safety for all women, girls, and gender diverse people in public spaces across the UK. Our hearts go out to Sarah's family and loved ones during this time, as well as the families of Blessing Olusegun, Nicole Smallman, Bibaa Henry, Wenjing Lin, and all those who have been a victim of gendered violence.

Every woman should be able to walk home alone at night without fearing for their life.

Every girl should feel safe enough to walk through the streets, or to take public transport, without having to plan their route around the risk that they could be assaulted.

Everyone should be able to go to a pub, a music venue, even just go to work, without being sexually harassed/assaulted just because they aren't a man.

A recent survey by UN Women UK found that 97% of young women aged 18-24 in the UK have been sexually harassed. This is not some strange phenomenon amongst young people either - 80% of women of all ages said they had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces. The survey also showcases a complete lack of trust in the authorities' ability to deal with sexual harassment, with 96% of respondents saying they did not report the incident, and 45% believing it wouldn't change anything. It says a lot about the way sexual assault and gender-based violence cases are handled, that many victims feel as if they won't receive justice, or that the process of reporting the crime itself would end up being too difficult or even traumatising to be worth going through.

The events surrounding Sarah Everard's death, and what transpired at Clapham Common, has only further shaken the public's faith in the police and criminal justice system to help victims of gendered violence. The government's response to the resulting public outcry has been to push for a blanket ban on protesting under Coronavirus measures, and to plan to implement plainclothes police officers in clubs, bars, and public spaces to provide protection.

Considering that Sarah Everard's killer was a police officer, this strategy seems very likely to provide more opportunities for certain officers to abuse their power, instead of actually making those affected by misogyny-based violence feel safer. A greater police presence isn't going to solve everything - we need widespread social change to prevent gender-based violence from happening in the first place.

All this has made it painfully clear how sexual harassment and gender-based violence is part of the daily lived experience for women, girls, and other marginalised groups in this country, and that the expectation is for them to just shut up and deal with it. The idea that a woman's body does not fundamentally belong to her has underpinned the normalisation of harassment, violence, and oppression for far too long. When is something actually going to be done about it?

If you want to know what you can do to help, especially as a man or someone who hasn't experienced gendered violence, here are some good places to start:

• Listen to the women and gender diverse people in your life - if a female or gender diverse friend comes forward and talks to you about their experiences or concerns, believe them and listen! Let them know you're there to support them however they need.

• Talk to the men in your life - call your male friends out on their behaviour if you see it, talk to them about sexual assault and gendered violence and what they can do to protect those affected by it.

• Educate yourself - there's so much information out there, a good place to start is the official report released by UN Women UK, which you can find here.

• Be an active bystander - if you see someone being sexually harassed in public, do what you can to intercede and protect the victim, and ask them what they'd like you to do to help.

• Stop victim blaming

• Stop saying "not all men"

If anyone has any further resources, send them our way and we'll add them to this post to help further educate people and provide support to those that need it.

We stand with all victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence, we see you, we love you, and we hope that one day the world becomes a safer place for all women and gender diverse people.

Love, Shooga Bloom xxx