Friday, March 12, 2021
Metropolitian police get it wrong
The tragic suspected kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard in London has sent shockwaves around the country, leading to many women questioning not just their own safety but the past behaviour of men towards them and the focus of safety advice, which they rightly argue should be directed at men, just as much as women.
Many are sharing their experiences of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, have pointed out how even innocent behaviour by men can terrify a lone woman walking home at night and called on all men to modify our behaviour.
A common Instagram meme has 'protect your daughter' crossed out and substituted with 'educate your son'. What has made this situation worse is that a serving Metropolitian Police Officer has been arrested in connection wth Sarah Everard's disappearance, an authority figure that one would normally hope to be able to rely on in such situations.
Naturally, socially-distanced 'Reclaim these streets' vigils are being organised all around the country to emphasise these issues, and yet the Metropolitian police have jumped in feet first to try and prevent the vigil planned for central London from taking place. Tne optics of this decision are just awful and yet this appears to have by-passed those who made it.
As the Independent reports, the Reclaim These Streets event is scheduled to go ahead on this evening on Clapham Common, one of the locations Ms Everard is believed to have walked through before her suspected kidnap and murder, but organisers of the event claim they have now been told by the Metropolitan Police that the gathering would be illegal:
As well as marking the death of the 33-year-old, the event was tipped as an opportunity to reclaim the space amid a broader national conversation about the safety of women and girls in public areas at night.
However a spokeswoman for the group organising the vigil has said it plans to appeal to the high court to challenge the Metropolitan Police’s interpretation of coronavirus restrictions with regard to human rights law.
They claimed that while initially the force had appeared supportive of the vigil, they later withdrew their support - warning organisers that they would face fines of tens of thousands of pounds in fixed penalty notices as well as criminal prosecution.
“This afternoon [Thursday], the Metropolitan Police have reversed their position and stated that the vigil would be unlawful, that their ‘hands are tied’ by the Covid-19 regulations and that, as organisers, we could face tens of thousands of pounds in fixed penalty notices and criminal prosecution under the Serious Crimes Act.”
The group added: “We have decided to seek an urgent order from the High Court confirming that the Metropolitan Police’s understanding of the law is wrong. We hope that this will be heard tomorrow, Friday 12 March, so that the vigil can still go ahead.”
The statement by the organisers is particularly telling. They say on their website:
“We believe that streets should be safe for women, regardless of what you wear, where you live or what time of day or night it is. We shouldn’t have to wear bright colours when we walk home and clutch our keys in our fists to feel safe”.
“It’s wrong that the response to violence against women requires women to behave differently. In Clapham, police told women not to go out at night this week. Women are not the problem.”
The Metropolitian police should find a way of allowing this vigil to happen, not stand in the way of a legitimate event.
Many are sharing their experiences of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, have pointed out how even innocent behaviour by men can terrify a lone woman walking home at night and called on all men to modify our behaviour.
A common Instagram meme has 'protect your daughter' crossed out and substituted with 'educate your son'. What has made this situation worse is that a serving Metropolitian Police Officer has been arrested in connection wth Sarah Everard's disappearance, an authority figure that one would normally hope to be able to rely on in such situations.
Naturally, socially-distanced 'Reclaim these streets' vigils are being organised all around the country to emphasise these issues, and yet the Metropolitian police have jumped in feet first to try and prevent the vigil planned for central London from taking place. Tne optics of this decision are just awful and yet this appears to have by-passed those who made it.
As the Independent reports, the Reclaim These Streets event is scheduled to go ahead on this evening on Clapham Common, one of the locations Ms Everard is believed to have walked through before her suspected kidnap and murder, but organisers of the event claim they have now been told by the Metropolitan Police that the gathering would be illegal:
As well as marking the death of the 33-year-old, the event was tipped as an opportunity to reclaim the space amid a broader national conversation about the safety of women and girls in public areas at night.
However a spokeswoman for the group organising the vigil has said it plans to appeal to the high court to challenge the Metropolitan Police’s interpretation of coronavirus restrictions with regard to human rights law.
They claimed that while initially the force had appeared supportive of the vigil, they later withdrew their support - warning organisers that they would face fines of tens of thousands of pounds in fixed penalty notices as well as criminal prosecution.
“This afternoon [Thursday], the Metropolitan Police have reversed their position and stated that the vigil would be unlawful, that their ‘hands are tied’ by the Covid-19 regulations and that, as organisers, we could face tens of thousands of pounds in fixed penalty notices and criminal prosecution under the Serious Crimes Act.”
The group added: “We have decided to seek an urgent order from the High Court confirming that the Metropolitan Police’s understanding of the law is wrong. We hope that this will be heard tomorrow, Friday 12 March, so that the vigil can still go ahead.”
The statement by the organisers is particularly telling. They say on their website:
“We believe that streets should be safe for women, regardless of what you wear, where you live or what time of day or night it is. We shouldn’t have to wear bright colours when we walk home and clutch our keys in our fists to feel safe”.
“It’s wrong that the response to violence against women requires women to behave differently. In Clapham, police told women not to go out at night this week. Women are not the problem.”
The Metropolitian police should find a way of allowing this vigil to happen, not stand in the way of a legitimate event.
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The Home Secretary's words are rather empty. The sort of action which cost Susan Everard her life is extremely rare and one wonders whether any legislation can prevent it. Meanwhile, the fact that domestic violence has increased over the year and the inference that police have not taken it seriously has been overshadowed by the publicity surrounding the south London murder.
Corrections: "Susan" should read "Sarah" of course, and "extremely rare" should be just "rare". The fact remains that most violence against women is committed by people known to them.
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