Evening Standard Comment: Sabina Nessa should have been safe on her walk

It was a journey we have all taken. Sabina Nessa set off on a five-minute shortcut through the park on the way to meet a friend at the pub. She never got there.

The primary school teacher, 28, is believed to have been murdered after about 8.30pm last Friday. Her body was found by a member of the public nearly 24 hours later.

Sabina’s death will have come as a huge shock to the local community around Kidbrooke and her young pupils. The lives of her friends and family will never be the same again — her father was described as a “broken man.”

Yet this tragic event did not occur in isolation. Violence against women and girls remains pervasive in our city. The appalling murder of Sarah Everard — who was only walking home — brought to the fore this daily threat that is a stain on all of us.

Just last week, HM Inspector of Constabulary found “problems, unevenness and inconsistencies” in dealing with the “epidemic” of violence against female victims in the UK. It called for preventing this violence to be considered as great a priority as counter-terrorism.

Every single woman and girl has the right to live her life — walk the streets, come to work or school, relax at home — without the fear of violence and intimidation.

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