Three years since the murder of York woman Sarah Everard

The 33 year old was kidnapped in South London

Published 3rd Mar 2024

Today marks three years since York woman Sarah Everard was murdered.

She grew up in the City and went to Fulford school before moving to London.

She was kidnapped in South London which sparked an outcry about violence against women and girls and safety.

The Alice Ruggles Trust works with the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust to raise awareness of stalking and coercive behaviour.

Victoria Charleston, the charity's managing director, said: "It's a really big subject and the fact that you can mention so many different women who have been killed means that there's always more to be done. Half a million young people are affected by stalking each year of which 400,000 of those are women and girls aged between 16 and 24.

"At the moment too many people are calling up the police and not getting the response that they deserve. They're speaking to their friends about stalking and they're not getting the response that they deserve, so there's a lot more work to be done.

"For potential victims, it's saying if you're concerned about somebody else's behaviour, speak up about it now. For those potential perpetrators, it's getting them to think 'it's OK to be angry, sad or jealous' but think about the impact on another person. For us, it's really, really important to lay those foundation early so we don't get to the murders 20 years later.

"We need comphrensive training across the whole of the criminal justice system and the health system to understand and recognise all these behaviours at the earliest point, and the second is proper comprehensive funding for victims services to be able to support a person going through these horrendous situations."

Earlier this week, we heard about a report which said former Met police officer Wayne Couzens, who murdered Sarah Everard, should never have been allowed to join the force and there are calls for a complete overhaul of vetting procedures.

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