Advertisement
News

Sabina Nessa vigil: Thousands gather across the country to honour teacher

Vigils will be held in UK cities in tribute to Sabina Nessa, amid calls for government action to end violence against women and girls.

Thousands of people across the country gathered on Friday night for vigils honouring Sabina Nessa, the 28-year-old teacher killed on her way to meet a friend in London.

The primary school teacher was attacked after leaving her home in Kidbrooke on Friday evening last week. Police believe she may have been killed by a stranger as she walked through Cator Park, where her body was found at 5.30pm the following day.

A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of her murder on Thursday evening.

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said Nessa’s death was devastating.

“It is appalling that she was yet another woman who could not safely walk home,” she said.

“Women should be safe wherever they are, at home and in public, and this requires a whole system approach by the UK government.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

Violence against women and girls is not yet treated with the “gravity and importance it deserves”, Nazeer added. 

“It should be of the highest priority that perpetrators of violence are taken seriously as a danger to women. They must be kept off the streets, with sentencing reflecting the severity of the crime and repeat offenders identified and monitored.”

Nazeer added that the treatment of Nessa’s death “has not been on the same level as others”.

“Time and time again we see how victims from Black and minoritised communities do not receive the same level of attention and support,” she said.

Experts campaigning to end violence against women and girls have long demanded a joined-up government approach to making streets safer for women. These calls ramped up after a number of recent murders in the capital, including sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in Wembley last June.

Earlier this year 33-year-old Sarah Everard was murdered by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens in south London. The police response to a vigil held in her memory at Clapham Common was condemned as disproportionate and heavy-handed after four arrests were made.

Advertisement

A vigil organised by family and friends of Nessa was held at 7pm on Friday in Kidbrooke’s Pegler Square.

A number of other events also took place across the country, including in Brighton and Cardiff. Those who could not attend were encouraged to light a candle on their doorsteps.

Tributes were paid to the “brilliant” and “caring” teacher, who worked at Rushey Green Primary in Lewisham.

“We’re so tired and we’re so angry,” Jamie Klingler, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets (RTS), told the BBC. This woman was outside for five minutes going to meet her friend. Her family will be devastated forever because of this action.”

There is an “epidemic of violence unfolding in front of our eyes”, an RTS spokesperson said in a statement, calling for criminal justice reforms which do more to keep women safe. “All we are getting from the government are empty words and reports.”

Greenwich Council has given out more than 200 personal alarms to women in the area since the body of Sabina Nessa was discovered, while new guidance encouraged women to stay in well-lit spaces outdoors, face oncoming traffic when walking and hide their jewellery.

Advertisement

The advice drew criticism from some who believed women were being told to change their behaviour to avoid violence instead of action being taken to stop the perpetrators.

“We need to stop putting the burden of staying safe on women,” the RTS spokesperson said.

“This is not a women’s issue, it is everyone’s responsibility.” 

Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said violence against women should be treated with the same importance as counter-terrorism.

It is “really important that people like me, who have not had to live the experiences of women and girls, listen to the experience of women and girls and work with them to have policies that address this awful issue,” he said.

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
Mum-of-three hit with 'revenge eviction' after asking for repairs: 'It felt like the end of the world'
Hazell and her three kids faced homelessness until Shelter stepped in
Renting

Mum-of-three hit with 'revenge eviction' after asking for repairs: 'It felt like the end of the world'

Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'
Malala Yousafzai
Activism

Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'

Winter fuel benefit cuts will send pensioners to hospital, DWP warned: 'It's a political choice'
a view from above of an older person with white hair eating out of a pot
Winter fuel payment

Winter fuel benefit cuts will send pensioners to hospital, DWP warned: 'It's a political choice'

Ghosts star Charlotte Ritchie: 'It's a tragedy people can't afford their essentials'
Charlotte Ritchie at Trussell food bank
Food banks

Ghosts star Charlotte Ritchie: 'It's a tragedy people can't afford their essentials'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue