‘Sarah is not the only woman to have lost her life’
Sarah Everard’s family has told how their “lives have changed forever” in a heartbreaking statement one year since she was kidnapped and murdered by former Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens.
The 33-year-old was stopped under the guise of a covid stop by Couzens as she walked home in Clapham, south London, on the evening of 3 March last year. Cozens was sentenced to life in jail in September.
In a statement on Thursday, Everard’s family wrote: “It is a year since Sarah died and we remember her today, as every day, with all our love. Our lives have changed forever and we live with the sadness of our loss. Sarah was wonderful and we miss her all the time.
“Over the past year, we have been overwhelmed with the kindness shown to us, not just by family and friends, but by the wider public. We are immensely grateful to everyone for their support, it has meant such a lot to us and has comforted us through this terrible time.”
The Metropolitan Police also released a statement, which read: “Our thoughts are with Sarah Everard’s family and loved ones. One year on we remain deeply disgusted and shamed that a Met police officer was responsible for Sarah’s appalling murder.”
Our thoughts are with Sarah Everard's family and loved ones.
One year on we remain deeply disgusted and shamed that a Met police officer was responsible for Sarah’s appalling murder. pic.twitter.com/ocqwgpd1lB
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 3, 2022
Mayor London Sadiq Khan also issued a statement saying his thoughts were today with Everard’s family, friends, and “all those who knew her”.
‘Today we remember the young woman that Sarah was, and the life that she lived. She was a vibrant, talented, intelligent young woman, who was loved deeply by her family and friends.”
London remembers Sarah Everard. My thoughts today are with her family, friends and all those who knew her. pic.twitter.com/NZEGZ7zz42
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) March 3, 2022
Khan said Everard’s murder “left the nation in shock, and sparked a national outcry about the way our society treats women and girls” and pledged to do more to keep women safe.
“I am clear, we cannot simply respond to male violence against women and girls – we must prevent it. I want every woman and girl to be safe, and to feel safe – whatever time of day and wherever they are in the capital. I will continue to do everything within my power to ensure that ending violence against women and girls is treated with the utmost urgency both by our police, and society as a whole.”
Everard’s family’s statement also touched more broadly on violence against women, saying: “Sarah is not the only woman to have lost her life.”
Rosa, a grant-making charity for 320 frontline women’s organisations, on Thursday revealed that there’s been an 89 per cent increase in awareness since last year, which they believed was sparked by nationwide coverage of Everard’s murder.
“There has been a revolution of understanding, and the scales have fallen from people’s eyes,” Rebecca Gill, executive director at Rosa, told the Guardian.
“I think there has also been a recognition of how normalised fear is for women. It is a fear we live with, and that we learn very young, and we carry it with us until we are old.”
Related links:
- Pestering women on the street and in pubs could become a criminal offence
- Spiking: UK’s biggest nightclub chain will close venues tonight as part of boycott
- Wayne Couzens will never be released from jail over kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard
