Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a national emergency, and the problem is men.
We are living in a world where every ten minutes, a woman is killed by an intimate partner or family member, with the UN stating that inside the home is the most dangerous place a woman can be.
In the UK, two and a half women are being killed every single week at the hands of men, and 3,000 instances of violence against women and girls are reported every single day.
In this year alone, 800,000 women have been victims of sexual assault across the country, and 34,000 men have been accused of violence against them in the last year, in London alone.
This is not just a national emergency; it is a war on women.
So, I ask this on behalf of all women, who like me I am sure are dying to know: why is it that men hate women?
Enter, the ever infuriating ‘but it is is not all men’ as I guess will be used to argue defence here, and whilst I cannot dispute this to be true, the number of violent men posing a serious threat to women has peaked so significantly, it is being deemed a national threat and urged to be addressed with the same severity instances of terrorism would be.
Though it might not be all men, it is every single woman. There is no woman you meet who cannot recall a time when she felt unsafe walking home in case she will be followed; a time when she refused a drink at a bar, for worry she could be drugged; a time when she had waved her friend off at the door to the words, ‘text me when you get home,’ for fear that they might not make it there. The bottom line: every woman has a story, and the common denominator is men.
Staggering numbers as high as four million are deemed a threat to women and girls across the country, with numbers rising by 37% over the past year, leading women to wonder if anywhere is actually safe.
Transport for London has reported a 20% increase in incidents of sexual violence across the city, meaning just catching the tube to work fills you with anxiety as you look up to posters of ‘ask a question’ and ‘did you know that staring is sexual harassment.’
Some of the most abhorrent acts of violence I have ever seen have circulated the news cycle in recent years. From the murder of Sarah Everard, killed at the hands of a serving Metropolitan police officer, to the crossbow killings of three innocent women who were shot and killed on the kitchen floor of their own home, to the body of a woman being found in the boot of a car, just to name a few, these acts of violence are eye-watering.
As a young woman in my twenties, I can say that you don’t have to hear that the problem is only growing; you have to watch it unfold. It is everywhere, in every place, happening to every girl.
The government, and, of course, the police, can introduce as many prevention methods and inquiries as they like, listing all these proactive measures they intend to take. Still, it does not mean they are actively changing anything. You just have to Google search the police to find instances of sexual violence perpetrated by officers belonging to their institution.
Violence against women and girls is so deeply rooted at the top, leading you to question how far Labour can go in tackling the problem when the numbers of perpetrators exceed the capacity for punishment.
For example, in England and Wales, a total of 86,038 spaces are available; when you compare this to the four million men causing the problem, it is no wonder authorities are struggling to cope.
I know from my sheer existence as a woman that violent tendencies and misogynistic attitudes in men begin at young ages; a truth I know many will relate to.
The typical sexist banter you endure in P.E. lessons begins the first time the teacher mentions a football lesson. I would argue that the first step to see any real change lies in education, establishing clear boundaries between what is right and what is objectively wrong.
Aside from this, though? It is time to talk. Creating safe spaces for communicating experiences is the only way to ensure that the extent of the issue is not being ignored, but a talking point that we can only hope becomes less frequent.
Now more than ever is the time to stand against violence towards women and girls, and a time for men to start recognising behaviour that is, put simply, inappropriate.
My hope for ‘Unsilenced’, a series of stories I hope will become a safe space for women, was written with the intention of reiterating that violence against women and girls is a real issue that is having an impact on real people every single day, and it is time something changed.
Featured image by: Angela Christofilou