Sarah Everard was a 33-year-old female who lived in London. While walking back to her apartment in Brixton, from her friend’s house, police officer Wayne Couzens kidnapped her and murdered her. 

Everard’s murder is trending on multiple social media platforms. In honor of Everard’s death, a memorial is located in Clapham Common in South London. The memorial is surrounded with flowers and signs saying statements such as “She was just walking home,” “Men do better to protect all women,” “Killed by the system we’re told protects,” and “Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them.” 

This topic is trending because it is something that has not been brought to everyone’s full attention. Everard was doing everything a female was taught to be safe. She was walking on a public street that was lit up and was on FaceTime with her boyfriend. The statement going around on social media is, “If we cannot even trust the police, who can we trust?” 

The police are meant to keep us all safe. Therefore when it was brought to the public’s attention, most females gained a new fear. 

The Bureau of Justice Statistics website provides the information that “Males experienced higher victimization rates than females for all types of violent crime except rape/sexual assault. Females age 12 or older experienced about 552,000 nonfatal violent victimizations (rape/sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated or simple assault) by an intimate partner (a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend).” 

Females have always been told to always walk in public places (never alone), not to wear revealing clothes and to always have your location on. 

Why can’t females wear what they want to? Many females were taught from a young age to always cover their body from men, both old and young. Rainn.org states that, “1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime,” and “Millions of women in the United States have experienced rape.” 

Many businesses, including small businesses on social media, have started to sell self defense keychains. They include items such as: tasers, pepper spray, a flashing light, personal alarm, seatbelt cutter and a window breaker that can also be used as a self defense tool.