Manchester is a progressive city, so hopefully we can lead the way
Greater Manchester women horrified by the death of Sarah Everard tell Saffron Otter it’s time to say ‘enough’ over male violence towards their gender
WOMEN in Greater Manchester and 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.
Everard, 33, was walking home from a friend’s house on March 3 just after 9pm when she vanished from the streets of Clapham in south London. It was a simple act of freedom, but one that every woman knows poses a risk.
In response to 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?
“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 Everard’s disappearance, UN Women UK reported that 97 per cent of women aged 18-24 have been sexually harassed and 80 per cent 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.
“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?”
The group has been in contact with 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.
GMCA is already encouraging the public to have their say.
The 10-year plan focuses on ‘gender-based 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.”
Feminist political party the Women’s Equality Party is also calling for funding for specialist community services to support women.
They want to see the government recognise violence against women and girls as a national threat by giving it the same political and policing priority as all other serious crime.
When the party asked women to share their experiences of sexual harassment and violence two weeks ago, more than 18,000 women responded in the first 45 minutes alone.
Barbara Guest, co-branch leader of Women’s Equality Greater Manchester, said Sarah Everard’s death has ‘rightly sparked horror and fury across the country.’
“The fact is, virtually every woman in the country has an experience of harassment, abuse or the threat of violence, and this has to stop,” she said. “It is time to say enough is enough.”
But there has been already.
Mr Burnham pledged to incorporate a misogyny hate crime policy within the plan, and, just days after the announcement, the Government agreed to require all police forces to record hate crimes motivated by sex or gender from this autumn.
For years, women in Greater Manchester from across diverse communities have been at the forefront in driving this change.
Jess Bostock, leader of Greater Manchester Citizens’ Misogyny IS Hate Campaign said: “After the heartbreak and exhaustion of the last couple of weeks, felt by women everywhere, it is a relief to hear that we have finally been listened to. progress
“Misogyny must be recorded as a minimum step so that we can spot patterns of abuse, pre-empt this behaviour, and redistribute funding to vital community services.
“Community-led solutions such as education and training are vital next steps for real, lasting change.”
One woman calling for change to start in schools is Jane Kenyon, who created Girls Out Loud - an independent social enterprise that runs intervention programmes for girls aged 12-14 in the north west.
Jane has worked with young girls in Greater Manchester schools for over a decade who are at risk of being groomed or seduced into crime.
In a 2018 Department of Education report on sexual violence in schools, data shows that one in three girls will experience sexual harassment in secondary school.
This week, the Government has come under mounting pressure to order an independent inquiry following an outpouring in recent days of complaints of sexual abuse in schools.
“Girls now have an awful lot to take on from being 12,” the 56-year-old said. “Social media, what they should look like, what they should wear, what they’re allowed to do, if anything happens to them it’s probably seen as their fault.
“We don’t understand the level of misogyny we’ve got in the UK, we’re in denial. Why can’t we keep women and girls safe in a civilised rich country? Serious intervention is needed.
“I think we need to educate boys and girls. It’s okay to focus on girls but they’re the victims. This is a man’s problem, a boy’s issue. And the good men need to step up.
“I’ve seen how little respect boys have for girls, learning their sex education from porn and getting all the wrong messages.”
None of us want to walk through Piccadilly Gardens at 11.30pm on a Friday night. Surely the city has to take some responsibility for that?
Daisy Whitehouse