[ad_1]
The brutal murder of primary school teacher Sabina Nessa in Kidbrooke, south London this month has sparked more anger against the safety of women on UK streets.
It’s reminiscent of the aftermath of the horrific Sarah Everard affair, another example of a killer targeting a female victim – seemingly out of the blue – in a supposedly safe public space. Such incidents naturally increase fears among women of predatory attacks by men, and lead to calls for greater protection – more police patrols or rape alarms, for example. Activists praised the men for crossing to the other side of the road rather than walking behind the women to help them feel safe: “It’s little actions like this that make a huge difference”, one of them said.
But are women right to be so vigilant in the face of the threat posed to them by foreigners? While much of the reaction is commendable, I can’t help but wonder if it’s also a distraction. Are the streets really where the greatest risk for women lies? Or is it closer to you?
Colin Sutton, former head of the Met Police’s crime squad, said that “the most dangerous place for a woman, where she is most likely to be assaulted or murdered, is her own home.” Indeed, murders perpetrated by strangers previously unknown to the victim represent 11% of femicide cases over the past five years.
Sabina Nessa deserves justice, like all other victims of violent crime. But there is a danger that, in an effort to assuage public shock at murders like hers, vital police resources will be devoted to an area of ​​crime where risks to women are minimal.
In fact, it is men, not women, who are most likely to fall victim to violent crime when walking on UK streets. Four in five people killed in London in 2019 were men.
Sabina Nessa will not be the last woman to be unexpectedly killed in the street. But it would be a mistake to sensationalize his case in such a way that it distorts our sense of reality when it comes to violent crime.
No woman wants to live and work in an atmosphere of unnecessary fear, especially when that fear has been sparked by a false perception of risk.
Britain remains a largely safe country where women are free to live, travel and work as they please without any serious threats. According to the UN, 40% of homicides of women worldwide in 2017 took place in Asia, 39% in Africa, 16% were attributed to the Americas, and Europe accounted for only 6%.
This is not to trivialize the gravity of violence against women – every violent death is terrible. But it helps to put the issue in perspective and reassure British women that they can go about their day-to-day business knowing that attacks like the horrific murder of Sabrina Nessa are the exception rather than the rule.
[ad_2]
