Speaking to LBC in the wake of the disappearance of marketing executive Sarah Everard, 33, as she was walking home on March 3 in Clapham, London mayor Sadiq Khan acknowledged London’s streets are not safe for women and girls.
LBC asked, “London’s streets are not safe for women, are they?”
“No, they aren’t, or for girls, and it’s really important that people of my gender understand that,” Khan replied. “If you’re a women or a girl and your experiences of our city of any public place, whether it’s on the streets on public transport, it’s very different to if you’re a man or a boy, and it’s really important that people like me in positions of power and influence understand that and take steps to address that.”
“You know, what’s missing from the conversation is that we talk in this area about protecting women, I think the conversation should be start with the actions of men and boys, actually,” he continued. “What’s going on in our culture, where it’s a sign of masculinity to intimidate women and to harass women on the streets … what is it about us we don’t understand that women and girls want some personal space on a busy cheap or a busy bus?”
“We’ve invested more than £16 million to make it safer for women and girls in our city who are on the receiving end of the violence,” Khan stated. “It takes being a victim a number of times, particularly of domestic abuse and domestic violence, where you come forward so we’ve supported victim’s groups, survivors groups and also funded refuge hostels and accommodation to give women a safe place to flee.”
“Police searching for Everard, who was last seen on March 3 in Clapham, south London, have found what appear to be human remains in woodland in Kent, the force confirmed late Wednesday,” CNN reported, adding, “Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick pointed out that it was ‘incredibly rare for women to be abducted’ in the streets.” Dick added, “I completely understand that despite this, women in London and the wider public — particularly those in the area where Sarah went missing — will be worried and may well be feeling scared.”
British police have allegedly warned women not to go out alone; a vigil titled “Reclaim These Streets” is scheduled for this Saturday. The website for the vigil on Facebook states:
We believe that streets should be safe for women, regardless of what you wear, where you live or what time of day or night it is. We shouldn’t have to wear bright colours when we walk home and clutch our keys in our fists to feel safe. It’s wrong that the response to violence against women requires women to behave differently. In Clapham, police told women not to go out at night this week. Women are not the problem.