Walking a dangerous road

With the disappearance and death of Sarah Everard in south London in March, women’s safety – and their rights to use public spaces without the fear of coming to harm – have dominated news headlines and social media. Sarah was walking from Clapham to Brixton, a journey that should have taken her 50 minutes. How could a woman go missing simply walking home from a friend’s house?

More than 70 per cent of women in the UK say they have experienced sexual harassment in public. Debate about this case has brought forward numerous stories from other women about instances where they have felt threatened in public spaces, together with comments implying that a woman on her own should not have been walking at night in an urban space. Although men are also victims of assault in public spaces, it is