Sarah Everard: London police chief faces calls to resign after officers guard the murdered woman

During the day, mourners flocked to the tape stand of Clapham Common, an area where Everard was last seen, in a tribute to her life. But they also came into an act of solidarity in recognition of the shared, ubiquitous experience of intimidation, violence, and harassment that women continually experience in public space.

Less than an hour after the rally began, officers moved in to notify people that they had violated Covid-19 regulations and had to leave. Subsequently, a predominantly male group of officers moved in, using restraint and matching techniques – where officers surround protesters to keep them in a certain place, making social distance impossible – to order people to leave, or in arrest and receive fines.

While police officers forcibly removed women from the orchestra and dropped others with their faces face down on the floor, participants shouted ‘Shame on you’, ‘Arrest your own’ and ‘Who you protect?’

In a statement Sunday morning, Met police said they “absolutely did not want to be in a position where enforcement action was needed” but that “we were placed in this position because of the urgent need to protect people’s safety.”

Home Secretary Victoria Atkins addressed a photo of one of the women pinned down by police during a Sky News interview on Sunday morning, saying it was “something the police will have to explain to the minister in the report” of Home Affairs. ‘

Atkins added that the “very disturbing scenes” were being “taken very seriously” by the British government.

Her remarks come as videos continue on social media and news agencies, showing the contestants fighting with police.

Several British leaders across the parties agreed that the police response was excessively harsh.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said on Twitter that “the scenes from Clapham Common are unacceptable. The police have the responsibility to enforce Covid laws, but from images I have seen, it is clear that the reaction is sometimes was not appropriate or proportionate, “he said in contact with the commissioner and” urgently seeking an explanation. “

The leader of the Labor Party, Keir Starmer, called the scenes in Clapham ‘deeply disturbing’.

“Women came together to mourn Sarah Everard – they should have been able to do it peacefully,” he said, adding that he shared their “anger and dismay at how it was handled.”

“That was not the way to police this protest,” Starmer said.

The leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party agree and join a growing chorus calling on the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to resign. “Cressida Dick has lost the millions of women’s trust in London and must resign,” the Liberal Democrats said, adding that policing the guard “is utterly disgraceful and a disgrace to the Metropolitan Police.”

British Home Secretary Priti Patel said “some” of the footage circulating online was “disturbing” and said she had asked the Met for a “full report on what had happened”.

However, Patels’ remarks unfold in a landscape that is becoming increasingly hostile to dissident voices – one that is becoming excessive to extraordinary communities, including women.

The Home Secretary made no plague over her plans to fight opposition, designating environmental protesters as ‘eco-crusaders criminals’ to attack a British way of life and to double the tactics of the Black Lives Matter protesters stamp. different speeches last fall.

And although Patel has said the government will always ‘defend the right to protest’, her actions indicate otherwise.

The protection of women

Meanwhile, according to Atkins, the government has undertaken an ‘end-to-end’ review of the criminal justice system, including changes to the sentencing of serious and violent offenders.

The minister called the domestic abuse bill “an important piece of legislation” that would start a ‘discussion on abusive behavior and what we can do to support victims but also to tackle culprits’, she said, adding that the government invests. unprecedented amounts’ also apply in violation programs.

But Jess Phillips, the British Home Secretary, said the government should put their rhetoric into action, noting that the bill calls for more than women.

More than 70% of women surveyed by a new UN Women UK poll said they had experienced sexual harassment in public. The poll showed up to 97% among women aged 18 to 24 years. The data, released on Wednesday, was obtained from a YouGov survey of more than 1,000 women commissioned by UN Women UK in January 2021.

The organization’s poll also suggested that women have little confidence in public institutions to tackle the situation.

“Only 4% of women told us they reported the incidents of harassment to an official organization. 45% of women said they did not believe reporting would help change anything,” UN Women UK said. said.