A vigil for Sarah Everard is set to take place at Clapham Common bandstand on Tuesday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of her death.
The publicly open event – organised by popular Clapham information and news Instagram page @bestofclaphamldn – will begin at 6.30pm on 3 March, observing a minute of silence and allowing for candles, laying of flowers and mourning.
Petr Kaiser, administrator of the Instagram page, said: “This isn’t a protest event, it is to commemorate Sarah and any other victims.
“As well as Sarah, it is an event for all of the women who have lost their lives.”
Everard was raped and murdered by off-duty Metropolitan Police officer Constable Wayne Couzens on 3 March 2021 on her way home from a friend’s house – a tragedy which shook the nation and brought into question women’s safety.
The vigil for Sarah Everard is potentially set to be in collaboration with Solace Women’s Aid, a leading London charity which provide extended support to victims of domestic abuse and violence in multifaceted ways.
In a statement to the South West Londoner, Nahar Choudhury, chief executive of Solace, said: “Five years on from Sarah Everard’s murder, women do not feel safer.
“Sarah’s death was an unspeakable tragedy, but the resulting outpouring of grief and rage, alongside Met police rhetoric around new, robust measures to support women’s safety, gave us hope.
“Finally, it seemed, people were listening and lasting change was here.
“The Met police – as headlines prove – have not sufficiently changed. Statistics around the number of women killed by men in England and Wales remain stable.
“As London’s largest domestic abuse and sexual violence charity, we work with women, every day, living in fear.
“Misogyny must be addressed, at its root, with those in power – such as police officers – thoroughly vetted before being placed in positions of responsibility.”
Kaiser made it clear the vigil would be a strictly non-political event, ahead of the upcoming local elections.
“It felt right to do it as a non-political event.” he said, highlighting the need for women ‘to feel safe on the common’.
He added: “People will not forget.”
Scotland Yard previously said, in an article written by the Standard: “It is dedicated to improving its response to violence against women and girls who “deserve to feel safe going about their daily lives”.”
Featured image credit: Petr Kaiser
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