Women say they still don't feel safe walking the streets of Merseyside

One in three women in Liverpool say they've received unwanted attention from a stranger since Sarah Everard's murder

Author: Paul DowardPublished 31st Aug 2021

Six months after the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard in London, women here are telling us they still don't feel safe walking the streets of Merseyside.

As part of our exclusive survey, one in three women in Liverpool say they've received unwanted attention from a stranger since Sarah's death and half say they've felt intimidated by someone walking behind them.

Helen Leach works for RASA who help victims of sexual abuse across Merseyside, She says society still needs to do more :

"This is still a massive issue. This isn't just one person saying I feel unsafe.

"We are expected to just put up with comments and put up with inappropraite touching on a night out and the more we are fed the more it gets normalised and the less likely people are to reporting if they feel unsafe".

Since her election in May, Merseyside Police and Crime Commisoner Emily Spurrell's been looking at ways to improve female safety around our city, with better CCTV and more simpler ways of reporting incidents.

She's opened up to us about her own experience :

"I've had it happen to me when I've been cycling and someone's grabbed me. It was a split second issue but it was a horrible issue to go through. It took away that feeling of safety and I know so many women have similar stories".

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