i haven’t seen any posts regarding the outcry that’s happening in the UK right now so: the murder of sarah everard, who went missing in london last week and whose body was found a few days ago and the publication of a survey which found that 97% of women in the UK have experienced sexual harassment has caused public uproar about misogyny and violence against women. sarah, who went missing as she walked home from a friend’s house, did everything women are “supposed to” as she walked home in the dark: wear bright clothing, stick to main roads, walk under bright street lights. the last image of her alive is from CCTV footage taken about 30 mins walking distance from her home, in which she can be seen talking to her boyfriend on the phone. the man who’s been charged with her murder is a cop. and not just any cop, a diplomatic protection officer, which means he’s one of around 5% of cops in the UK that carries a gun, although he was allegedly off duty at the time. we don’t know how sarah was murdered yet, but her body, which was found dumped in woodland miles from her home, took a few days to properly identify for a yet unknown reason. (edit: she was identified by dental records, meaning she was no longer recognisable enough to be identified by a family member) FIVE independent investigations have been opened in connection to the cop’s arrest. the uk gov is going to debate making misogyny a hate crime. violence against women isn’t new, but the level of outrage this time is significant. women have had enough.
update: a peaceful vigil that was held tonight at clapham common, london, one of the last places sarah walked through before her abduction (source), has turned violent. (the relevant hashtag is #reclaimthesestreets.) the london met police are now snatching and arresting peaceful protestors, less than two weeks after one of their fellow officers snatched sarah off the street and murdered her. (sources x,x) sarah was a white woman, so this protest against the police is specifically with regards to their misogyny and male violence against women in general.
women in the UK have had enough.