Today, Wayne Couzens, a police officer, was charged
with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard.
Reclaim these streets
I’d like to walk day or night
where I like without fear.
I’d like to walk in a forest deep,
smell the trees alone without fear.
I’d like to take a nightbus home,
and not be hassled, face a leer.
I’d like to exit a station at night,
not feel I’m running the gauntlet.
All of this shouldn’t happen at all;
we should feel safe enough to breathe.
Why are we paying for being women
when we are happy in our female skin?
Is it hate or is it a desire for control,
and where does that hate come from?
I’ve travelled the globe alone without fear,
so why aren’t we safe at home, right here?
Copyright Vickie Johnstone, March 13, 2021
Some statistics for Great Britain:
- Year to March 2020: 207 women were murdered by men. Lower than the previous year of 241.
- More than 9 out of 10 killers of men/women are male.
- 57% of women are killed by someone they know, normally a partner or ex-partner.
- More than 70% of murdered women are killed in their home.
- 2017: 3.4 million sexual attacks against women; 1 million were rapes or attempted rapes.
- Of 151,000 rape victims (144,000 were women), 55,000 were reported & there were only 1,439 convictions.
- 1.6 million women suffered domestic abuse (and 757,000 men)
YouGov poll of UN women:
Personally, I've experienced all of them, so many times I don't have a number, the most common being catcalling and being followed at night, which once turned very aggressive. With the indecent exposure, the guy followed us and knew where we lived cos he disappeared and reappeared where we lived. We reported it and did an interview, and the police did nothing.
- 7 out of 10 women surveyed experienced sexual harassment in public
- Over half experienced catcalling in public
- 4 in 10 had been groped in public
- 1/3 had been followed in the street
- 1 in 5 had experienced indecent exposure in a public place
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