Like so many others, the Vida team were upset and angered by news of the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard as she was walking home.
Social media sites have been flooded with the rage of women and girls about the other global pandemic – of violence against women and girls. Thousands of stories of the routine abuse they experience, on the streets, in the home, at work. The catcalling, gropes, put downs, assaults, that are common occurrences for women and girls across the UK.
The day after news of Sarah’s murder, Jess Phillips read the names of all the women murdered by men in the UK during 2020. It took nearly 5 minutes. Listening to the names of those women, occasionally accompanied by the names of their children, was agonising.
And yet, similar to the ‘All Lives Matter’ cries that fail to recognise the reality of institutional racism, this prompted reminders that it’s ‘Not All Men’ that abuse. Most men don’t, but all women know that the abuse and harassment are so much a part of our lives that we don’t even notice. A bad experience is chalked up as one of those things, feelings of fear as we walk alone are suppressed, and any man could be a potential threat.
This could be a turning point – we must capture this moment and fight for change. We must galvanise our energy and the energy of the growing number of men who ask ‘what can we do’? Together we can challenge the belief systems that underpin violence and hatred towards women – the casual sexism and misogyny – and work to bring the culture change needed to stop it.
Vida have been central to the Know the Line campaign on sexual harassment in South Yorkshire – you can promote the campaign, and support Vida to provide life changing therapy to some of the women and girls who are struggling with the impacts of the VAWG pandemic.