Why Are We Still Not Safe?

After yet another tragic and terrifying murder of a young woman simply walking along the street, we ask...

- Ashleigh Page, Candice Fernandez.

Six months since we mourned Sarah Everard, 33, we’re grieving once again, this time for primary-school teacher Sabina Nessa, 28. Sabina was walking through a park five minutes from home in south-east London, going to meet a friend, when she was killed. A man, 36 – thought to be a stranger – has been charged with murder. A horrific, tragic, yet painfully familiar story.

The outcry following Sarah’s abduction, rape and murder was inflamed following recent revelations that Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens, 48 – now serving a whole-life sentence – used his warrant card to handcuff and ‘arrest’ her under the guise of breaking lockdown rules.

Yet, as Sabina’s family grieve, it’s clear nothing has changed to end this epidemic of violence against women and girls. With 97% of young women experiencing sexual harassment*, this affects us all. We’re taught young to be wary, not to go out alone at night, to look over our shoulders, clenching our keys between our fingers. And 69% of women don’t think the government is doing enough to make our streets safe.**

One mum, whose daughter suffered a harrowing street attack, tells Woman why this must end now.

‘HE’S DESTROYED MY DAUGHTER’S LIFE’

Maureen Butts, 59, lives in Bargoed with her daughter Whitney, 22.

When I read about the brutal killing of Sabina Nessa, my heart shattered. It was a stark reminder that the same could have happened to my daughter Whitney, or that I could now be suffering the intense grief of Sabina’s family.