Police violence against women

All eyes are on the murder of Sarah Everard, her abduction under cover of a false arrest, and the horrors she endured at the hands of the serving police officer who raped and then murdered her due to be sentenced today. Our hearts and thoughts are with her family and friends, and with the family and friends of Sabina Nessa whose murderer is still to be tried, and of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman further violated by sexist and racist officers still to be tried for taking selfies with their dead bodies and circulating them.

Yesterday’s Guardian (see below) revealed that “at least 15 serving or former police have killed women in UK since 2009”. We don’t know how many of these were convicted and, if so, what sentences they got. But it is now publicly known that rape has practically been decriminalised (only 1.4% of reported rapes are prosecuted) and that two or three women are murdered every week by partners or ex-partners, most of whom had reported to the police but were denied protection – Byline Times reports 114 women died after previous police contact.

Women officers and police partners and ex-partners have said publicly that violent male officers are a “significant minority” in the force and that there are police who look at having sex with “vulnerable victims”, such as women who report domestic violence, as a “perk of the job” – this amounts to rape. See stats on police violence.

Women are widely discussing how we can get this violence to stop when those whose job it is to protect us are violent themselves or protect our attackers. With the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill going through parliament, violent officers will be rewarded with increased powers against all of us. (see our statement vs the Bill)