• Tue, Oct 5, 2021

  • Statement in response to Sarah Everard Sentencing and growing incidents of sexual violence against women and girls.

    The Leicester Rape Crisis organisation has listened and watched with horror both the reporting and the unfolding of the Sarah Everard case, as well as many other cases that are being reported on recently.

    The statistics on violence against women continue to grow and include murder, rape, and sexual assault. Only 1.6 % of rapes in England and Wales reported to the police even result in a charge. 

    The prosecution of these cases continues to fall. Women need to be believed when they report the  matter and the authority figures such as police should be adequately trained to ensure this is the  case. Treating victim/survivors with the humanity they deserve.

    We need to have a better system to deal with this. It is not about women having to be street wise and therefore blamed for any attack. Women know the risks and grow up from a very early age with the understanding they are at risk on the streets or at home at a disproportional rate to men, due to

    their gender. They are educated to ‘always be careful out there’. Society must recognise this, and preventive education and awareness is key to understand that sexual violence towards anyone is fundamentally wrong.

    LRC is working to ensure these issues are being challenged and addressed throughout society and is working to ensure voices of victim/survivors are heard.

    We stand for zero tolerance of violence against women and girls.