What more needs to be done to help women feel safe?

The murder of Sarah Everard at the beginning of this month is a tragic story of just how dangerous being a woman can be. Her disappearance, alongside shocking new statistics that 97% of women have been sexually harassed, has sparked conversation across social media.

Hundreds of infographics have been shared across all platforms, explaining how to help women feel safer at night and what needs to be done to prevent sexual harassment and gender-based violence. Whilst these have mostly been met with positivity, many men have mocked or denied the statistics and what needs to be done.

It’s clear that a lot of change needs to be made to reduce the number of women effected by this type of crime, but the question many are pondering is ‘what is the best way to do this?’

Many across social media have suggested that education could be the way forward. At the moment, the curriculum doesn’t contain any education surrounding sexual harassment, sexual assault, consent and other essential topics. A lot of women believe that educating teenagers about respecting women and the appropriate way to act around them would be the biggest step forward in preventing predatory behaviour in men in the future. Teaching men about how to make women who walk alone at night feel safer could also help women to feel more relaxed. Simple steps that men could do, like not walking too closely behind a woman, walking on the other side of the road, or making noise so women are aware that somebody is behind them, could put the minds of women walking home alone at ease.

Women across the country have also began campaigning for more lighting in public spaces such as parks and alleyways. This would be a simple step that would help many women to feel safe when walking alone at night, as they would be more aware of their surroundings which could potentially deter attackers. In Sheffield, the Our Bodies Our Streets organisation has began campaigning for lighting across Sheffield parks, so that women can feel safe to run or walk alone at night. The organisation’s Safer Parks After Dark campaign is to be launched soon, which includes the hanging of fairy lights across parks to emphasise how important it is for the council to act on the issue.

Men, the government, and the education system all need to do better to help combat gender inequalities and erase gender-based harassment and violence. Helping women to feel safe and comfortable whilst walking home alone would only require a few simple steps, and hopefully the case of Sarah Everard will be the wakeup call that helps push for this.

Edited by Victoria Sales