Last month the country was shocked by the heartbreaking story of Sarah Everard.
Sarah went missing on 3rd March while walking home from Clapham to her home in Brixton. A week later, her body was found by the police in the woods in Kent, miles from where she was last seen. A police officer is currently on trial for her kidnapp and murder.
Since this event, there has been a huge public reaction. The whole country has been devastated and deeply shocked that women are at such risk when simply walking home alone.
This story has particularly hit home to me as I used to live between Clapham and Brixton, minutes from where Sarah was last seen.
I used to walk along the very same road on my own all the time: at 2am while drunk, at 10pm after visiting friends and every single evening after finishing work. I never thought of it as an unsafe road. It is usually very busy and well lit. In fact, even though there is a shortcut I could have taken, I deliberately walked this way in order to avoid the quieter back-streets.
Therefore to hear about a young woman getting attacked and murdered by doing the exact same thing as I did all the time is deeply troubling. My thoughts are with her friends and family and I hope there will be some changes in how we deal with violence towards women.
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about my own safety and the risks I have taken in the past.
In this post I want to share my thoughts and experiences of being a young woman living in London. At the end I will also share some top tips for those of you thinking of moving for how you can stay safe in London.
Safety was a big concern of mine before moving to London.
I had previously been living in Newcastle where I felt very comfortable. I frequently walked around on my own at night and honestly never had a bad experience in the city. However, London was a completely different place and, from what I had seen in the media, full of crime.
Once I decided to move, my first worry was what area of London to live in. I had lived in Hackney one summer as a student and I had not had a good experience. I desperately wanted to make sure that my second experience of London would be better. Eventually I picked Balham in south London because I had friends who lived there who assured me it was a safe, family friendly area.
As soon as I got settled in Balham I realised my friends were right. It quickly became very comfortable for me and I generally felt happy walking around on my own.
On the whole, since moving to London, I have had a very positive experience.
While I have always been cautious when walking around, I generally am with my partner when it’s late at night so I have not had to do many journeys at night alone. The vast majority of times I have though, I have had good experiences.
One Friday night I went to drinks at a friend’s house who lived in east London. At around 1am they were heading to a club but I wanted to go home instead. I got a taxi with them to the nearest tube station and got the night tube home. It took a long time to get from Mile End to Balham but the tube was surprisingly busy and the only scary part was the 7 minute walk from Balham station to my house.
Last summer I got very drunk having drinks in the centre of London and I’m ashamed to say I fell asleep on the tube home. (This is dangerous and not recommended: make sure you know your limits and sober up before travelling!). However luckily, I woke up at the end of the tube line with all my personal items still with me and was able to navigate getting a bus home with no problems.
I have also been out clubbing with friends who don’t live nearby and had to navigate my journey home in the early hours of the morning. While out in Stockwell, I was able to get the night tube back on my own and walk along my road as the sun came up with no problems.
However there are some negative experiences.
I thankfully don’t have many negative experiences since moving to London. There have been a couple of uncomfortable situations including being chased around Bethnal Green tube station by a stranger who kept calling me beautiful (I kept going back into the station and out different exits to lose him); having to change carriages on the tube because of a stranger making me uncomfortable and getting followed home at night by someone on the short walk between the tube and my house.
These were small incidents that did scare me but luckily nothing bad happened. However there has been one big incident that did upset me a lot.
A year after I moved to London, I attended the Notting Hill Carnival with a friend from work. I had never been before and didn’t really know much about it. At the time, I couldn’t drink alcohol because of a medication I was on but assumed that I could still enjoy myself.
Soon, I realised that this probably would not be the case. Everyone at the carnival was drinking or on something. The friend I was with proceeded to get very drunk and even though I was not enjoying myself I stayed to stay in order to look after her.
We stopped at a street party for a little while – a part of the carnival where someone had set up speakers and was playing music. My friend started talking to a group nearby and we began to dance with them. There was a woman in the group who was getting very friendly with the others around her.
I was completely sober and not keen to start grinding with anyone (man or woman) but she would not leave me alone. I felt uncomfortable as she was quite aggressive and intimidating. She ended up coming behind me and lifting up my skirt. It was hot so I was not wearing any tights. She proceeded to grope my bottom and expose me.
Luckily I was able to jump away and take myself out of the situation.
However I couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. I felt violated somehow even though nothing really happened. After getting home that day, I remember crying for the rest of the weekend. I had assumed nothing bad would happen to me here, but that bubble had just burst.
I thought about reporting it to the police but it didn’t seem serious enough to bother with. It was only a small thing, but it still counted as sexual assault and it scared me.
Nothing like that had happened to me before and I hope it never does again.
My tips: How to Stay Safe in London
1. Research the Area.
When looking to move to a new area, research the crime rates in the area and walk around to get a feel for how safe it is. You can find a police crime map here to get an idea of crime in your local area. It is always worth keeping up to date on issues in your local area to make sure you stay vigilant to any common crimes.
2. Be careful with your phone!
Generally when walking around be careful about having your phone out. Phone theft has been big in London recently (see here). Criminals often use motorbikes and mopeds to steal phones from pedestrians and make a quick escape. This police article gives details on precautions you can take.
3. Know your routes home.
Whenever you move house, think about your routes home. Look at public transport options near your house. Work out what time they run until at night and how far they are from your front door. If you were to walk from the station/bus stop on your own, is there a route that feels safe? When you go out on your own and need to get home, these routes need to be in your head. Like a homing pigeon you will always know your best route.
4. Safety always comes first.
My mum always says to me, no matter how expensive the alternative route, take it if you feel unsafe. It’s better to spend the additional money. That could be paying for a taxi instead of getting the bus. It could also be staying at a friends house instead of going back to your house alone. While you might want to sleep in your own bed, rather than on someone’s sofa, it is worth it to avoid a difficult journey. In addition, always take the longer route, if it makes you feel safer.
5. Take precautions.
If you are walking home alone, take precautions to stay as safe as possible. This article details some of the things that can make you less of a target. A key one is to make sure you tell someone when you leave and when to expect you home. If you are worried about walking alone, try giving someone a call as you walk. If you don’t like the route from the station/bus stop to your flat, see if a flatmate will come meet you halfway.
6. Threats and Allies.
One of my personal top tips is to stay alert for threats and allies. A threat is someone you worry might cause you harm, whereas an ally is someone walking the same route as you who could support you if something bad happens. There is obviously an element of assumption here – you can’t know for certain if someone is a threat or an ally. As a general rule, if there is a couple walking ahead of me at night, I will aim to stay close by. If there is a lone male walking behind me, I will speed up to put space between us and to get home sooner.
7. Apps and Alarms.
If it makes you feel safer, buy a rape alarm or whistle (I bought this pack). Download emergency apps on your phone so friends and family can track your route (examples here). Set up the emergency sos settings on your phone to alert others if you are in trouble.
Living in any city comes with risks. If you are thinking about moving to London, don’t be put off in doing so, but do research the area you are thinking of living in and remember to ALWAYS put your safety first.
For more information about how to stay safe living in London you can visit the metropolitan police website.
