Sarah Everard – Police officers are sickened by this abhorrent crime — I’ll do all I can to protect women and girls

THE disappearance of Sarah Everard and the arrest of a Metropolitan Police officer on suspicion of her murder has shocked and saddened the whole country.

My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with Sarah, her family and friends at this unbearable time, and I am working closely with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to ensure the police have the resources they need to deliver justice.

? Follow our live blog for the latest developments on the case of missing Sarah Everard

While an awful incident like this is incredibly rare, I know it is worrying.

Because it has reminded women everywhere of the steps we all take on a daily basis, without a second thought, to keep ourselves safe.

Sadly, the accounts shared online by hundreds of people in the wake of Sarah’s terrible disappearance are so powerful because we can all relate to them.

Too many of us have walked home from school or work alone, only to hear footsteps uncomfortably close behind.

Too many of us have ­­­pretended to be on the phone to a friend to scare someone off.

Too many of us have clutched our keys in our fists in case we need to defend ­ourselves. And that is not OK.

These concerns have been compounded by the fact that the man arrested on suspicion of Sarah’s murder is a police officer.

The police hold positions of trust in our communities and it is deeply disturbing to imagine that someone who we would all put our faith in if in danger could allegedly be responsible for such an abhorrent crime.

However, the professionalism and conduct I have witnessed through my own engagement with the police since Sarah’s disappearance has reminded me that the vast majority of police officers serve with the utmost integrity and represent the very best of ­public service.

So if you are feeling angry or worried, please try to remember that tens of thousands of police officers are equally sickened by what has happened, and there are ­currently hundreds of dedicated officers working night and day to bring the perpetrator to ­justice under the leadership of the first female Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick.

ACTION TO TARGET PERPETRATORS

I have heard first-hand from victims and survivors about the ­devastating effect gender-based violence has on them and their families.

That is why last year I launched the UK’s first ever public survey on tackling violence against women and girls.

We received more than 15,000 responses, including views and lived experiences of gender-based violence and the impact that these terrible crimes have had on victims and their families.

These experiences will help me to develop a new national strategy on tackling violence against women and girls, which I will publish this year.



This is just one part of the action that I am taking to better target perpetrators and support victims and survivors.

The Government has ­provided more than £27million of funding to domestic abuse organisations to support them through the pandemic.

Our landmark Domestic Abuse Bill will soon become law and will introduce a new offence of non-fatal strangulation, strengthen legislation around controlling or coercive behaviour and widen revenge-porn laws to include threats to disclose intimate images with the intention to cause distress.

And our end-to-end Rape Review, into how the entire criminal justice system responds to rape and serious sexual offences, is continuing at pace.

With Sarah and her family in my thoughts and prayers, I will continue to do all I can in my role as Home Secretary to ­protect women and girls.

Every single woman and girl should be free to walk our streets without the slightest fear of harassment, abuse or violence.

And I will not rest until that is the case.

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