Overwhelming Response as Ealing Walks For Sarah

Women's safety highlighted as men, women and children lit-up the night

Ealing reclaim the streets walk #Sarah Everard

Ealing was lit up last Saturday night (13 March) as a socially distanced walk took place in memory of Sarah Everard.

The 33-year-old went missing after walking home from a friend's house in south London on 3 March - her body was found last week. Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with her kidnap and murder.  

Across the UK there were virtual and doorstep vigils and the prime minister and the Duchess of Cambridge also paid their tributes.

Residents joined the walk from Ealing town Centre

Sarah's death has prompted a widescale public debate over women's safety and led to 21 year old Stephanie Tubbritt from Ealing wanting to take action.

She told Ealing Today, '' The death of Sarah Everard hit me hard - only a few years ago, a school friend Alice Gross had been abducted and murdered in a situation that just felt eerily similar. Sarah's death is one of many acts of violence committed by men.

''At the ages of 11, 15 and 18 I was sexually abused by men older than me. In between those years I had been cat called, made to walk in fear, had men leering at me and trying to intimidate me, alongside much more threatening behaviour. It was wrong, but I was conditioned to believe that it was 'normal. I was conditioned to believe not to walk by myself late at night, to keep my keys in my hand, to cross the road away from men, avoid areas that weren't well-lit, etc. What always confused me was why men didn't have to follow the same set of rules. It slowly began to dawn on me that some men were the problem, and that most women were in fact victims to antipatriarchy. It was then that I decided that a change needed to happen. 

'' My first thought was 'how can I help?' - there is no easy answer, but I thought that I'd start locally. I posted in the Ealing and Northfields Friends group on Facebook on Friday inviting women to join me on a walk for Women's Safety to remember Sarah Everard and all other women whose lives have been lost to senseless violence from men.

''The response was overwhelming! Women and men wanted to partake, many men wanting to bring their sons to educate them, which blew me away! However, there are always a few bad eggs. On Saturday morning, the day of the walk, I received a private message from a group member saying that if we did walk, he would be waiting and would call the police. This threat seemed so unfair - yet again, a man is stopping women from their freedom to walk their own streets.

''I cancelled the event for everyone's safety, as I didn't want anyone to get fined or arrested. I decided that I would still walk that route, and many others decided the same thing. 

'' At 6pm, outside Perceval House, a large group of families, women and men were beginning to walk the route I had proposed - a route that many women would feel unsafe walking by themselves, especially at sunset. We began the walk, and I couldn't help but cry. The response was phenomenal. All attendees wore masks and kept socially distanced to their bubbles, many attendees held lanterns and candles, and some even had signs! I led the walk the whole way, and the mood was absolutely unreal. It felt very surreal. There we were, walking a route many of us would fear to walk alone, united, trusting each other. It was wonderful. There were probably around 150-200 people, and there would have been many, many more if the official event hadn't been cancelled. 

'' This is the first step in uniting women in Ealing, this is the first step to creating a powerful movement in the local community to keep women safe. I am in the process of setting up a Facebook group where anyone can join. Women who may have to walk alone can request company, any worries or dangers in the area can be addressed and I plan to host a very large scale event once covid restrictions allow. This is just the beginning. ''
 

Stephanie has set up a new Facebook Group Reclaim These Ealing Streets which has already gained nearly 700 members. The idea is to form a safe, cohesive space where people can share incidents and ideas on how to improve safety.
Once COVID restrictions are lifted, it's her intention to host a gathering in Ealing to remember Sarah and continue to highlight discussions over safety.

Annemarie Flanagan

14 March 2021