In recent weeks concerns about women’s safety have gone through the roof and if you’ve seen any of the news headlines I’m sure you know why. The Sarah Everard case has served as a brutal reminder to women that no matter how far we have come as a society, there is still a huge element of fear in our daily lives. Is it safe to go for a walk by myself? Should I put my headphones on today? Should I be careful of what I wear? These are all thoughts so common that I’m sure most of us don’t even think twice about the implications of it, but we deserve the right to leave our houses and do the things that we want to do without worrying whether we’ll come back.
Unfortunately this is not a new problem. Women have been raised with the knowledge that sexual assault and murder are very real possibilities and have learned to always be cautious. However, when we hear about the cases when caution is not enough, we can’t help but feel angry and vulnerable and what happened to Sarah Everard is no exception. Although this is not a topic that can ever really be solved without some serious attitude changes towards women, there are ways to help ease the fear and to bring comfort to women going about their daily business until then.
Safety apps are a good way of making sure that someone will always know where you are and can easily be alerted if you are in any kind of danger. Each app will have their own special features but, according to the Guardian, the ones that have received the most popularity as of late are Hollie Guard and WalkSafe.
Here are the website links for both apps if you are interested:
There has been a huge surge in downloads of women's safety apps, see more about this here:
As a result of Sarah Everard’s case and the protests that followed, the government has pledged £45,000,000 to improved lighting and CCTV as well as a new scheme introducing plain-clothes officers in pubs and nightclubs. Again, this will not end sexual assault and murder as a whole but small changes such as these will certainly help to improve a sense of security.
Finally there is also a petition campaigning for public sexual harassment to be illegal in the UK as it is surprisingly not at the moment. The aim of this petition is to let women know that they are protected by the law and hopefully to deter any potential offenders from acting. This is a crucial step for women’s safety, especially in a time where it is so badly needed, and can hopefully bring us closer to a world where we can finally relax.
If you want to sign this petition please follow this link, they only need a few more signatures!
More about Sarah Everard’s case and the government’s response to women’s safety here: