Women in fight for safer streets
Campaign to end the everyday misogyny that blights so many lives
WOMEN across the country have been sharing their experiences of vulnerability at the hands of men in the wake of Sarah Everard’s death.
Not only about sexual harassment and sexual assault, but the burdens that women must carry on a daily basis, such as being frightened to walk alone.
Conversations have ignited among both sexes, with an awakening to the extent sexism and gendered violence have been normalised and ingrained in our culture.
Now, campaigners are calling for an end to everyday misogyny and for Manchester to lead the way in change.
In response to Ms Everard’s alleged kidnap and murder by serving police officer Wayne Couzens, a group of 16 women in Greater Manchester have come together under the name of Right To Walk.
Noticing their social media timelines flood with tales of misogyny and then warnings from police for women to stay home in order to stay safe, the group was angered. It drove them to set up Everard’s Law – a petition calling for a number of initiatives, from stricter punishments for harassment and catcalling, to better lighting and increased security cameras.
“The more we talked to each other the more we were keen to make sure this didn’t go away, and that’s the danger,” said Daisy Whitehouse, a PR agency owner. “Everyone gets upset and then nothing happens so we thought we’ll make that happen. “When a woman is attacked, the response still is, ‘what was she wearing, what was she doing, did she encourage this behaviour?’ “We need a whole societal change where actually, the question is why has that person done that and how do we stop them doing it again? “Why is our culture so intrinsically misogynistic that you feel that if you say ‘a man did this to me,’ the men in the room will probably roll their eyes?
“But that’s not everybody. We’ve seen a lot of men over the last week go, ‘I can’t believe you’ve lived with this’”, Daisy added.
While it is recognised that not all men are perpetrators, all women can relate.
In the same week as Ms Everard’s disappearance, UN Women UK reported that 97 per cent of women aged 18-24 have been sexually harassed and 80pc of women of all ages said they had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces.
Daisy said as a group, they’ve decided to not share personal experiences with the public, only for them to be judged or placed into a hierarchy.
“I do always remember when I went out as a child, and even at 18, my mum would stay up and wait until I got home,” the 41-year-old said.
“But she didn’t do that with my brother. That is telling.
“For us, it’s not about listing examples that almost feel like they’re justifying action.
“There’s serious abuse and there’s a lot of people talking about basic day-to-day overstepping of boundaries that just makes them feel damn uncomfortable, they also shouldn’t happen.
“It’s about people being and feeling safe.”
The Everard’s Law campaign, which has attracted more than 5,000 signatures, was initially set up to raise awareness.
“At first I questioned whether more CCTV and lighting made a difference, because surely it’s about changing attitudes,” Daisy said. “But there is hard evidence about the way spaces are designed, where benches and lights are placed, that actually has a massive impact on behaviour. It’s knowing that cities are taking that research into account.
“None of us want to walk through Piccadilly Gardens at 11.30pm on a Friday night. Surely the city has got to take some responsibility for that?”
Just days after a vigil to remember Ms Everard in Clapham resulted in women protesters being handcuffed by police, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons.
The government says legislation will hand powers to the police to take a ‘more proactive approach’ to managing ‘highly disruptive’ protests that are deemed to be causing too much public disturbance and ‘annoyance.’
Feminist action group Sisters Uncut have fought against the Bill, with a number of protests held in the city centre where hundreds have turned up to ‘demand an end to state and gendered violence.’ A Manchester spokesperson of Sisters Uncut says they believe the solution lies in community solidarity and response, and well-funded public services.
“Not by increased police powers and not by reducing our right to protest,” they said.
The group has slammed a 2019 Home Office statistic that shows 1.7pc of rape cases are prosecuted.
“Police routinely fail to investigate rape cases,” they added.
The Home Office says in the 12 months to September last year, the CPS charged 60.7pc of suspects of the rape cases referred to them by the police – an increase from 52pc in the same period in 2019.
“The government will do all it can to restore faith in the justice system and give victims of rape the confidence that these vile offenders will be brought to justice,” a government spokesperson said.
Part of the Bill is the proposal for plain-clothed police officers to patrol pubs and bars in a bid by the government to protect women.
This is a notion the members of Right To Walk strongly disagree with.
“The one thing we all passionately feel about is not more police,” said Daisy. “How does that work, do we want to live in that world?
“But also, how is that person at a distance going to decide if an interaction between two people is wanted or not?”
The group has been in contact with
None of us want to walk through Piccadilly Gardens at 11.30pm on a Friday night Daisy Whitehouse
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), who recently unveiled the Gender Based Abuse Strategy: The Greater Manchester Strategy to Tackle Violence Against Women & Girls.
The initiative was going to be announced later in the year for public consultation in May, but mayor Andy Burnham said it felt right for people to see the proposals now in light of the conversations being had.
The 10-year plan focuses on ‘genderbased abuse’ and covers a range of crimes from domestic abuse and coercive control to rape, sexual assault and workplace harassment.
“The conversation is being had with our city, finding out what the city is going to do,” explained Daisy.
“We’ve already made a bit of noise and Manchester is a progressive city, so hopefully we can lead the way.”
In the aftermath of Sarah Everard’s death, the government said it is taking immediate steps to provide reassurance for women and girls and have reopened a public consultation.
This includes doubling the size of the Safer Streets fund, which provides neighbourhood measures such as better lighting and CCTV.
Boris Johnson said: “The horrific case of Sarah Everard has unleashed a wave of feeling about women not feeling safe at night.
“We must do everything we can to ensure our streets are safe, and we are bringing in landmark legislation to toughen sentences and put more police on the streets.
“Ultimately, we must drive out violence against women and girls and make every part of the criminal justice system work to better protect and defend them.”