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The killing of Sarah Everard sparks a larger conversation surrounding violence against women

March 11, 2021
Members of the public hold up signs in Trafalgar Square during a protest against the The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and criticising the actions of the police at last night's vigil on March 14, 2021 in London, England.
(Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
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Sandra Salathe

Being a woman is incredible in numerous ways. It also comes with its own set of challenges. Among the many setbacks we face, is the constant fear of being sexually harassed or assaulted within our lifetime. It's a gnawing sense of alarm that resides in many of our minds, resulting in subtle micro-protections we've conditioned into our daily routines.

We occasionally glance over our shoulders on an evening walk home. We grip our keys a little tighter whenever we notice a member of the opposite sex walking too close behind us. We immediately call our partners or friends the moment we get home, just to let them know we're safe. All these acts of provision are subtle reminders of the fundamental risks women continue to face for not having been born a man.

Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing assistant from the U.K., was killed on her walk home from a friend's house in Clapham. Her death has sparked frustration and concern regarding the safety of women, and the lack of precautions protecting them. While the investigation is ongoing, a serving Metropolitan Police officer is being accused of her murder.

Last Thursday, Prime Minister Boris said he was "shocked and deeply saddened," by the case, adding, "We must work fast to find all the answers to this horrifying crime." In addition, the head of the Metropolitan Police, Commissioner Cressida Dick, said the force was "appalled" over news of one their own being taken into custody over Everard's disappearance.

According to footage from a doorbell camera, Everard was last seen at 9:30 p.m., on the evening of March 3rd. Footage showed Everard on the phone with her boyfriend while walking home. On Saturday, a vigil was held for Everard in the UK, after news broke of her death. Countless women's rights activists took to the UK streets, expressing their frustration over the safety of women.

Initially, the Clapham vigils - organized by "Reclaim These Streets" - were cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions in the UK. However, peaceful mourners gathered regardless, chanting: "This is a vigil, we do not need your services."

There have been several occasions where I've been in a position just like this. Countless times I've walked home from a party, or taken the subway late at night, often staying on the phone with my former boyfriend. I could easily have been Everard, and perhaps that's why this story hits so close to home.

According to recent statistics from UN Women, 97% of young women in the UK have been sexually harassed at some point within their life. Eighty percent said they had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces.

"This is a human rights crisis. It's just not enough for us to keep saying 'this is too difficult a problem for us to solve' – it needs addressing now," said Claire Barnett, executive director of UN Women UK.

Barnett went on to say they're "looking at a situation where younger women are constantly modifying their behavior in an attempt to avoid being objectified or attacked, and older women are reporting serious concerns about personal safety if they ever leave the house in the dark – even during the daytime in winter."

What is probably most chilling about this story, is the fact a police officer was taken into custody and questioned for Everard's disappearance. As a child, I often envisioned police officers as heroes. They were individuals who were meant to protect the community. But as I grew up, my veil of naivety was lifted, and I began understanding not all police officers have the community's best interest at heart.

This is yet another reminder that male violence seeps heavily into every major institution. After news of Everard's disappearance broke, many individuals took to social media to show support for Everard and her family.

"What happened to Sarah Everard has hit home hard for so many women because we make the calculations, she did every day too. We take the longer, better-lit route, push the fear aside for the voice that says, 'don't be daft, you've every right to walk home alone at night and be safe," Sky News political correspondent Kate McCann wrote.

Actress Amber Davies also commented on Twitter, writing " Absolutely terrifying reading the news. My heart hurts for #SarahEverard and her family. How can a young woman innocently walking home turn into this? Just sickening!"

While many individuals expressed empathy and distress, there were those who chose the alternate route and blamed Everard, with the hashtag #NotAllMen trending.

With the will, there's a way to end violence against womenconversations.indy100.com

Few men are rapists, but many do contribute to the toxic behavior that perpetuates assault. Continuing to ask redundant questions like "well, why was she walking home alone?" or "what was she wearing?" is beside the point. The questions we should be asking is, why a man felt entitled enough to harm a woman in the first place.

Society needs to stop blaming victims and do a better job of educating men and boys on the issue. Just because you're not actively assaulting women, doesn't mean you're a part of the solution. Men need to be committed to changing their behaviors. They need to educate themselves and actively participate in conversations surround rape culture.

We shouldn't be asking what women can do differently. Women are not the problem. It's men who need to change. They need to hold their counterparts accountable for their toxic behavior, and support women when they speak out against perpetrators instead of undermining them.

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Can tech help female entrepreneurs break the bias?

Women founders continue to come up against common challenges and biases
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Written by Kelly Devine, Division President UK & Ireland, Mastercard

Starting a business may have historically been perceived as a man’s game, but this couldn’t be further from reality. Research shows women are actually more likely than men to actively choose to start their own business – often motivated by the desire to be their own boss or to have a better work-life balance and spend more time with their family.

The recently published Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurship 2021 found that in the category of 'Aspiration Driven Entrepreneurship’ – capturing those who actively choose to start their own business – women in the UK surpass men: 60% vs 56%. And Mastercard research from February 2022 found 10% of female business owners started their business in the past two years compared to 6% of men – meaning women were 67% more likely to have started a business during the pandemic.

Yet, there are common challenges that women founders continue to come up against - not least the gender imbalance in the household and long-held biases which are still prevalent.

In the UK, women are almost three times more likely to be balancing care and home commitments than men, and this was exacerbated during the pandemic as the additional barriers of school closures and lockdowns meant that the care time of dependents rose significantly on a day-to-day level for women. In addition, women were less likely to have access to a home office, greatly impacting the work they were able to accomplish when working from home was the only option.

It's also widely known that female business owners are still more likely to struggle to access funding for their business ideas. According to Dealroom, all-women founding teams received just 1.4% of the €23.7bn invested into UK start-ups in 2021, while all-male leadership teams have taken almost 90% of the available capital.

Without financial support, and when juggling significant time pressures both at home and at work, how can women grow their companies and #BreaktheBias (as this year’s International Women’s Day termed it)? What tools or support can save them time and money, and give them the headspace they need to focus on building their business?

With female owned businesses collectively estimating revenue growth of £120 billion over the next five years, solving this problem is bigger than supporting women – it’s about supporting the national economy.

Using tech to level the playing field

There are clearly societal issues at play that need to be resolved. But when we look at the rise in technology businesses during the pandemic, we can plainly see an alternative source of support critical for business growth: digital tools.

A third of female business owners say new technologies will be crucial to the success of their business in the future and one in five say it is the most important thing for business growth.

With new technology comes new ways to pay, create, and work. And yet there are barriers that prevent business owners accessing this technology. Women are significantly more likely to say they want to use more digital tools but don’t know what is best for their business and also more concerned about the security of digital tools.

When technology is adopted by businesses – whether using online accounting solutions or messenger services for communicating with staff – it saves them time, allows them to maintain and grow their customer base, and ultimately increases cost savings and profit.

By drastically improving the training and support that is available to women-owned business to access and utilise technology we will allow these businesses to grow and succeed. And we know there is demand for it.

Research done by the IFC and Dalberg shows that female entrepreneurs are more likely to invest time and money in business development. This includes product development, customer base expansion, and digital tools and training and there are plenty of services available offering this type of support – many of them for free.

One such programme is Strive UK – an initiative of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth – which aims to reach 650,000 micro and small business owners across the UK and empower them with the tools they need to thrive in the digital economy through free guidance, helpful tools and one-to-one mentoring.

Working together with small business experts – Enterprise Nation, Be the Business and Digital Boost – we hope to ensure hundreds of thousands of UK female business owners have the tools they need to succeed and reach their ambitious goals. Because this ambition remains strong in the UK, with female business owners largely optimistic about the future despite the multitude of challenges they are facing. Four in ten say they will grow their business in the next five years – compared to only a third of male business owners – and they’re also 35% less likely than men to say they plan to downsize or close the business.

But if we do not empower female entrepreneurs to access the tools and technology they need to grow, there is a risk this optimism could be misplaced. Support programmes that provide business owners with guidance and mentorship can help ensure this isn’t the case, allowing female entrepreneurs to not only survive but thrive in the months and years ahead.