“We must urge people to remember that we are still in a pandemic and ask that they continue to follow the rules. We would ask the public to continue to follow social distancing rules, but we do understand the strength of feelings in this case,” the spokesperson said.
Lockdown restrictions in England mean it's illegal for people to leave their home except for reasons including work, education, childcare, exercise, and recreation with one other person. The Facebook page for Sarah Everard's vigil has more than 4,000 confirmed attendees, with over 6,000 people expressing interest in the event.
Organisers of the vigil are in disagreement with the Metropolitan Police, who have threatened anyone who attends the event on 13 March with fines.
The event to “reclaim the streets and public spaces” for women and remember the victims of harassment, abuse, and violence on the streets of London and across the country has been scheduled for 6 PM on Saturday in Clapham.
Prompted by the case of Sarah Everard, 33, who went missing from the streets of Clapham earlier this month as she was making her way home from a friend’s flat, the Reclaim These Streets vigil aims to focus on the issue of women’s safety.
“We believe that streets should be safe for women, regardless of what you wear, where you live or what time of day or night it is. We shouldn’t have to wear bright colours when we walk home and clutch our keys in our fists to feel safe. It’s wrong that the response to violence against women requires women to behave differently. In Clapham, police told women not to go out at night this week. Women are not the problem. We’ve all been following the tragic case of Sarah Everard over the last week. This is a vigil for Sarah, but also for all women who feel unsafe, who go missing from our streets and who face violence every day,” the Facebook page for the event said.
According to the women organising the "Covid 19 safe" vigil, despite having received a positive response from the Met and the local Lambeth Council on holding the gathering, the authorities have since changed their decision.
— Reclaim These Streets (@ReclaimTS) March 11, 2021
The organisers, say that, should the judge rule against the gathering, they may be hit with Met Police costs of up to £30,000. The Help us to Reclaim These Streets! has already raised the necessary amount and in case the judge rules in favour of the event on 13 March, the group says the money will be donated to charitable causes for women.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick addressed women in the capital on Wednesday, following the disappearance of Everard in south London on 3 March.
“I know Londoners will want to know that it is thankfully incredibly rare for a woman to be abducted from our streets. But I completely understand that despite this, women in London and the wider public - particularly those in the area where Sarah went missing - will be worried and may well be feeling scared. You should expect to see continued high levels of police patrols in that area as well as very significant investigative activity,” Dick said.
On 9 March, officers arrested a man at an address in Kent in connection with Everard’s disappearance. The man, a serving Met Police officer, was taken into custody at a London police station where he remains.
The investigation continues to be treated as a missing person's enquiry but due to its complex nature and concerns for Sarah's welfare, it's being led by the Met's Specialist Crime Command.
