Issue and Opponent: The abduction and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard was another brutal reminder of the violence women face at the hands of men. Everard was walking home to Brixton from a friend’s house in Clapham, England on March 3, 2021, when she was abducted. Police have arrested Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens on suspicion of murder. In response, organizers from “Reclaim These Streets”, a collective with the ideal of community ownership of public spaces, planned evening vigils across the country, with the main one to be held at the bandstand of Clapham Common, the area where Everard was last seen. The vigil was canceled by a judge citing coronavirus restrictions, and organizers instead asked people to shine a light on their doorstep, for Everard and all women affected by violence.
Dilemma Action: On March 13, 2021. despite an explicit ban on their gathering, protesters assembled for the candlelight vigil with speeches and a moment of silence. At 6 pm, when the vigil was scheduled to start, a small number of organizers were gathered on the bandstand behind a cordon of flowers, candles, and messages left in Everard’s memory. After violent confrontations, with protesters, shouting “arrest your own” and “shame on you”, at least one woman was handcuffed and taken away to a police van.
Outcome: Police responded violently, arresting at least one of the leaders and forcing the gathering to disrupt while wrecking many of the tributes at the vigil site. The backlash against the police was swift, with near-immediate calls for the resignation of the police commissioner and decrying the crackdown on freedoms of assembly and speech. Many said they were only more determined to come after police effectively banned the vigil. London’s police commissioner defended her officers’ actions and said she did not intend to resign amid a backlash over the way police treated some protesters.