All over the world, the case of Sarah Everard has sparked outrage. Sarah was a 33 year old women who had disappeared on March 3rd, 2021 in South London. She was last seen leaving her friend’s house at 9pm in the neighborhood of Claphamn to walk to her apartment in Brixton. Sarah had taken this walk before. The walk should have been about 50 minutes long. She knew to take well lit streets and had even spoke on the phone with her boyfriend, making plans for the next day. Regardless of the safety measures she took, she never managed to get home safe. Her boyfriend had called the police when she never showed up to meet with him the day after.

The Arrest

On March 9th, they arrested Metropolitan Policeman Wayne Couzens for suspicion of kidnapping Sarah. On March 10th, after a week-long intensive search party, they unfortunately found her body. Her remains were inside of a builder’s bag in a wooded area in Ashford, Kent, about 50 miles from where she went missing. They confirmed it was her with dental DNA. The authorities charged Couzens for the kidnapping and murder of Sarah. The plea hearing and provisional trial will be on July 9th and October 25th.

Even after canceling her vigil due to COVID restrictions, around 1000 people still showed up. There was also a series of smaller ones that happened all around the UK as well. There was protests and also arrests. The hashtags #ReclaimTheseStreets and #TextMeWhenYouGetHome have been trending across social media. 

Her death has sparked global outrage. Women across the world have been sharing their sexual assault stories. Women already have to deal with so many precautions for their own safety. A list of do’s and don’t’s just to survive in a world of dangerous men, now the police can’t even make them feel safe. The sad truth is that 70% of women have been harassed in public places, according to a UK survey. That is not okay. Girls and women should not have to learn how to protect themselves, it should be the other way around. Educate your sons to be better.