TW: Discussions of rape, sexual violence, sexual assault.
A woman is killed by a man every 3 days in the UK. 49% of women feel unsafe when out alone at night. Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa were just walking home.
It is harrowing that, even in our advanced society where universal rights and freedoms are upheld unequivocally, a woman just trying to get home in the dark has no guarantee that she will make it alive. The news stories hitting the headline this past year alone have laid testament to this. In the wake of the furore over Sarah Everard’s murder in March this year, the police have taken some steps towards tackling the alarming number of sexual harassment and assault incidents.
Spearheaded by Thames Valley Police, Project Vigilant deploys plain-clothes officers to patrol the areas outside nightlife venues with the aim of catching potential offenders. Since the scheme was piloted in Oxford, around 40 people were intercepted by officers and rape offences were reduced by 50 per cent over six months. This apparently causal link between the implementation of the scheme and a reduction in the number of rapes in Oxford has encouraged the police to expand it to other areas such as Milton Keynes and Reading.
By patrolling the alleyways, side streets, and parks surrounding clubs and bars, undercover officers are on the scene, ready to apprehend individuals who are exhibiting ‘critical behaviours’ known to often precede an assault. These include predatory stalking or harassment of lone women as they leave clubs or bars. There has also been data showing a link between a prior history of non-contact offences (such as flashing), and more serious sexual offences. This came to light following the killing of Sarah Everard, when it was revealed that her murderer, PC Wayne Couzens, had previously indecently exposed himself on two separate occasions – the most recent being a mere three days prior to Ms Everard’s murder.
Project Vigilant takes a desperately-needed preventative approach – however, in light of the murder of Sabina Nessa last week, it is clear that existing measures has not gone far enough.
Society as a whole is still failing to provide half of the population with the sense of security that we are entitled to as citizens. We are told to only walk in well-lit areas, carry pepper spray, pay attention to our surroundings, keep to busy places – and every suggestion only reinforces the narrative that women must follow certain rules in order to avoid being attacked or killed. It is deeply disturbing and frankly exhausting to see yet another casualty of sexual assault and murder every time we open the news, even when they have done all the ‘right’ things. It is difficult to shake the feeling that it could’ve been us, our sisters, our mothers, our friends.
The prevalence of violence against women points to a systemic failure to uphold our civil liberties in the same way as those of men. The answer is to tackle the problem at its root – by confronting the lack of education and accountability for male perpetrators at an institutional level. We will only start to see change once we shift the narrative from victim-blaming through asking women to take safeguarding measures, to educating men on holding each other accountable for predatory behaviour. It it not enough for the government to conduct inquiries without acting on them and expect the issue to be addressed just because they handed out a few rape alarms.
For too long, the onus has been placed on women to dress differently, behave differently, and stay hyper-aware of their surroundings. Project Vigilant works to remove some of that burden, so that the blame is attributed to predatory men rather than the victims of such behaviours. While this initiative does not entirely allay concerns that violence against women continues to escape the government’s top priorities, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
---- Tahreem Khan, Guest Blogger
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