Rape Culture as a Cause of Sarah Everard's Murder

By: Victoria Gonzalez

    This is Sarah Everard.

She was only thirty-three years old. She had her whole life ahead of her. She was a marketing executive and a "bright beautiful daughter and sister." Those who knew her best described her as "strong, principled, and a shining example to us all."

On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, her body was discovered in the woodlands. She had been stuffed into a builder's bag and dental records were needed to identify her.

Now, this is the point in the story where some misogynists might say something along the lines of:

"Well, was she drinking?"

"What was she wearing?"

Or "Not all men!"

So, let's delve into this a little more.

    What exactly were the circumstances surrounding Sarah Everard's                   murder?

It is around 9 pm on March 3rd in the Clapham neighborhood in London. 33-year-old Sarah Everard had just left a friend's house and was walking back to her apartment.

She didn't do anything "wrong." Remember all those safety tips and tricks you were taught as soon as you were old enough to comprehend them? Well, Sarah Everard followed all of them, but it still wasn't enough.

She wore bright clothing, shoes she could run in, took a longer route than normal so she could walk somewhere that was well-lit and populated, and even had a 15 minute conversation on the phone with her boyfriend to check in and let him know she was leaving her friend's house.

She was still murdered. However, what makes matters so much worse is who she was murdered by.

A 48 year old man by the name of Wayne Couzens killed her. He was a police officer.

This is him. He had a wife too.

It makes it kind of difficult to trust people and have faith in the system and whatnot when the very people whose jobs are to protect us and make the world a safer place are the same people kidnapping and murdering women on their way home (Not to mention, systematic racism and the killing of Black men and women like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.)

    Sarah Everard is a victim of rape culture which is perpetrated and                normalized in our every day lives.

Now that more attention is being called to the issue, you may have heard about how 97% of women in the UK have experienced some sort of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or sexual abuse.

We have to really take a look at the why behind this number to truly understand it though.

This 97% didn't just pop out of no where. It originated from the double standards and casual dismissal of harmful behavior from a young age.

I know you've heard me say this before, but it really is crazy to me how normalized phrases like these are in our society:

"Boys will be boys."

"They're asking for it."

"Look at what she was wearing."

"Don't be such a pussy."

"The 3% aren't worth it."

"Most of them are probably fake accusations."

"She shouldn't have walked alone."

"It isn't all men."

When things like Chanel Miller's rape and Sarah Everard's murder happen, yes, it causes an uproar in people who care, but why?

    1. Because the media uses passive voice as opposed to active voice which places the           focus almost entirely on the victim instead of the perpetrated. They say "she got               raped" or "she was found dead" instead of "he raped her" or "she was murdered."

Stop using passive voice when talking about violence against women.

    2. Because the perpetrators usually get light sentences and slaps on the wrist. These                situations aren't being treated with the importance they deserve.

In the Chanel Miller case, she was raped and woke up in the hospital, but in court the focus was on what an outstanding student and swimmer Brock Turner was. He only got a few months and was even released early.

    3. Because it keeps happening. We should be able to walk home at night without fearing         for our lives. That's a bare necessity.

Here's some stats for you. Please note that sexual misconduct not only keeps happening, but it is actually increasing. Then there's also the fact that most of this goes unreported.

    So many women do things on a day to day basis to stay safe that most        men hardly ever give any thought to.

We have all shared out live locations.

We have all changed our shoes.

We have all held our keys between our fingers.

We have all made phone calls, both real and fake.

We have all tucked our hair inside our coats.

We have all ran down dark roads.

We have all theorized our escape routes.

What makes it worse is that these things don't even feel like "special safety tools." They just feel natural. They're just what we do. Just the way it is.

When you ask women what they do to keep themselves safe, they'll be able to give you a whole list.

However, when you ask men the same question, the most common (and usually only) response is, "Don't drop the soap if I ever go to jail."

    That right there is the problem.

We keep teaching out girls these "preventative measures." We tell our girls to keep themselves safe from rape, murder, assault, and more...We hardly ever put special time aside to teach our boys the basic respect that is the only real "preventative measure" that will stop things like this from happening.

So, stop harassing women. Stop victim blaming. Stop burdening women with the weight of other men's actions.

Education is empowerment.

Instead of protecting our girls, why don't we stop the problem at it's core. Let's educate our boys. (Along with the rest of society. We all need it.)