Alice Nott
Women* gathered in front of the Brian Clough Statue at 6pm on the 13th March to mourn the death of Sarah Everard and other women who have died at the hands of male violence.
“This vigil is a grassroots action”
Despite the High Court Ruling declaring the vigil at Clapham junction unlawful the vigil in Nottingham still took place. Organisers of the protest put out a defiant message stating that “This vigil is a grassroots action” with “care and solidarity for each other [as] our number one priority”.
The vigil came about after the disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard on the 3rd March, with a Met Police officer having been charged for the crime.
The issue has become more than this one tragedy though as women have shared their experiences online with the message “Too Many Women” trending on Twitter.
This tragedy comes alongside the Guardian reporting 97% of women* report experiencing sexual harassment and feelings have only been intensified since the High Court Ruling.
Many women feel that the justice system is working against women with a statement put out by the Clapham Common Vigil organisers stating that police at Scotland Yard had failed to engage with them to enable the event to go ahead. This is despite one of their own officers having been the suspected murderer in this case.
In Nottingham, after a minute’s silence, a poem was read out calling for people to start to feel the everyday fear women feel and “Stop being sorry and start being angry”.
The vigil remained peaceful, unlike protests in London
Women* came forward laying flowers and lighting candles.
The vigil remained peaceful, unlike protests in London where the Police began arresting women who gathered on Clapham Common to protest peacefully.
Many have been quick to call the Metropolitan Police’s actions out, especially when contrasted to the response of other police forces.
Disgraceful doesn’t cut it. We should all march tomorrow pic.twitter.com/HI4KquVrBW
— Liam Young (@liamyoung) March 13, 2021
Overall, the event was a potent reminder of the struggles women* face but also the solidarity that can exist between them. Events will likely continue across the country in the proceeding weeks.
If you want help with any of the issues discussed services can be found on here and welfare officers are available on every course and across societies.
Alice Nott
Images courtesy of Alice Nott. No changes were made to this images.
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