International Women’s Day should mark a week of celebration for women, but instead last week it was rightly dominated by the tragic murder of Sarah Everett. Her death shocked us all, and my thoughts go out to Sarah’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. Following the news, we saw an outpouring of grief online, as people shared their own stories and experiences of violence. While abduction may be rare, incidents of women being harassed or attacked are nowhere near rare enough.
Data for the Sevenoaks district shows 218 sexual offences and 62 rapes were committed in 2020/21. These figures are devastating, and yet they are the lowest in Kent. More must be done; and we must use every possible tool to tackle violence against women and girls.
Regular readers of this column and my Facebook account will know this is something I have campaigned on since being elected. This week I called again for standard determinate sentences (where you are automatically released at a point in your sentence) to be ended for rape, and for parole boards to always to be involved before a perpetrator is released. I also asked the Justice Minister for an update on the establishment of a Nightingale Court in Kent, so that all victims of crime can see swifter justice, and to help cases with high risk of attrition, such as sexual violence.
Today I have also launched a survey on my website – so that you can feed in ideas on how we make our community safer. The survey, which can be found on my website at https://www.lauratrott.org.uk/have-your-say does not have a closing date and can be anonymous. However, I will use the responses as a basis for further discussions with Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott, Sevenoaks District Council and Kent County Council, who I know share my passion for addressing this issue. If anyone would like to discuss a specific issue with me, as ever, please contact my parliamentary address at [email protected].
The Home Office have also reopened their survey on tackling violence against women and girls. Since Friday an unprecedented 78,000 responses have been received and each submission will help shape the new strategy due to published later this year. This is a vital opportunity to have your voices heard, and I urge all those impacted or interested to respond by visiting https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/violence-against-women-and-girls-vawg-call-for-evidence
Women have a right to feel safe, and we must now make this a reality.
