‘She Was Only Walking Home’: The Most Powerful Messages From The Vigil Honouring Sarah Everard

Attendees of the vigil held in honour of Sarah Everard used signs to send powerful messages about women's safety.

Updated on15th March 2021 at 1.30pm

This weekend, a vigil was held in Clapham, South London in honour of Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old woman from London who was kidnapped and murdered earlier this month. The event, which saw hundreds of mourners leave flowers and pay their respects, ended with several arrests after police intervened to break up the event.

Video footage circulating on social media showed police officers dragging and pushing women before handcuffing them and leading them away, which has led to wide-spread criticism of the Metropolitan Police. At a vigil held in solidarity against violence against women and with a serving police officer being held on suspicion of Sarah’s kidnap and murder, many believe the force used by the police was disproportionate and unnecessary.

With many women feeling like their voices have been silenced – both surrounding this event and more generally – they took to using placards and postersto get their messages across. ‘It could have been me’; ‘Unsafe is my default existence’; ‘Educate your sons’; here are the most powerful messages from the vigil held in honour of Sarah Everard.