Here’s How You Can Fight Back In Honour Of Sarah Everard

“Hi, Dad. Yep, yeah, all good! Just walking home and it’s dark so thought I’d call.” A phrase that’s all too familiar to women across the world, a phone call to a friend, partner or family member is considered a safety net for any woman walking home in the dark; and a tactic Sarah Everard used when she went missing in Clapham on Wednesday the 3rd of March. She called her partner. She took a longer route home because it was well lit. She wore bright, reflective clothing so she could be seen, even in the dark. Sarah Everard did everything on the list of unwritten rules women follow to keep themselves safe while simply walking home.

At The Sole Supplier, we promote empowerment and a sense of community through a shared love of sneakers. What also connects us to our community, is shared experience from one woman to the next. We’ve all been at drinks with the girls and shared stories of being catcalled or harassed, brushing it off with another swig of wine and a wave of a hand. Your best mate carries her key between her fingers, just in case. Your sister holds her Chilly’s water bottle like a baton, just in case. Your cousin calls her mum at 6pm on the dot every weekday while walking home, just in case. But when is enough, enough?

The Sarah Everard case has made waves this week because she feels like a friend. Women across the nation have petitioned across their socials to have Sarah found, because she’s a symbol of the feeling every woman can relate to when walking home alone at night. This week, following Sarah’s disappearance, police knocked on over 750 doors and advised female residents not to go out after dark. Let that sink in. A 33-year-old woman has allegedly been snatched from the streets by an off-duty police officer while on her way home, and the solution is: “just don’t go out.”.

In a recent survey conducted by the UN, 97% of young women in the UK have been sexually harassed; and what’s unsurprising, is that this figure isn’t surprising. By this definition, street harassment in the UK is an epidemic, but the wider problem comes in the form of fearmongering. While threatening behaviour towards women is an undeniable problem, women are statistically no more likely to go missing than men. In a study conducted in 2012, 52% of missing persons were male and 48% were female. Despite this, the fear that’s instilled into women drastically surpasses that of men, which leads to an escalation in anxiety. Instead of educating women on the facts of missing persons and the unlikelihood of abduction, does the media habitually promote concern and panic to make women more compliant?

In light of the events of the past week, a vigil is being held in Sarah’s honour this Saturday (13th March) at the Clapham Common Bandstand. A movement that’s being named #ReclaimTheseStreets and #ReclaimTheNight, the vigil is for every woman who has been threatened, harassed and felt unsafe on their streets. Banding together in times of turmoil like this is something women have done since the age of the suffragettes. Successfully protesting for the right to vote, the right to have access to safe abortions and the right to receive equal pay, when the sisterhood is pissed off – it’s a force to be reckoned with.

Sarah’s case is an example of the power of united women. Ensuring her photos were shared again and again and again until she was found, strangers banded together on Instagram to demand every. single. follower. knew about Sarah and joined the search to find her. Now, more than ever, women are sharing their stories and finding strength in numbers. Defiant, fed up and ready to fight for our right to safety on the streets, it’s time to shout back at the friend that says, “catcalls are a compliment!”. It’s time to protest for safety and demand better education and a change in attitudes towards women.

Make Public Sexual Harassment A Criminal Offense In The UK

Time's Up

Rosa UK

Agenda UK

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