Dozens of campaigners protesting violence against women came together in Nonsuch Park yesterday evening (Sunday, October 3) to demand greater action from authorities on the issue.
The protest was convened by War on Women, a group closely aligned with the aims of the Reclaim These Streets social movement that was founded after the murder of Sarah Everard earlier this year.
War on Women founder Kira Charlton, who told the Surrey Comet that over 120 people had attended the Nonsuch Park protest, gave a speech rallying supporters to demand action from local and national authorities that could help stop violence against women:
"A month ago today, a woman was attacked in this park, where we are standing now," Kira told the demonstration, referenced a sex attack that was reported in the park in September.
"But she was not the first and if something does not change she will not be the last. When three women die a week at the hands of a man it is a war on women," she added. "Last night I was sat on the sofa thinking 'What women's name will we have to hear next? How many times do women and girls have to speak up until people start to listen and take real action?' We should not have to be 'streetwise'. We should not have to carry keys. We should not have to constantly look over our shoulder."
Protesters of all ages held aloft placards referencing the women killed by men in 2021 alone, and demanding greater education on the issue for boys and young men.
Candles were also lighted at the protest in memory of those lost to gender violence.
As the Surrey Comet reported, a woman was sexually assaulted in Nonsuch Park on Sunday, September 5. The woman, who was running through a wooded area of the park, was attacked by a man described as white and wearing a hoody around 7pm.
The attack was just one of a number of reports of sexual assaults by men targeting women in the Epsom area recently.
A man exposed himself to a woman on Station Approach in Epsom on August 31, with a similar incident reported just days before (August 25) on Roy Richmond Lane
Meanwhile, a man who grabbed and dragged a woman on Epsom Common on June 30 was recently charged by police with breaching his Sexual Risk Order.
"In our local towns of Epsom, Ewell and Sutton, our human rights are being taken away from us," Kira said later during the speech, slamming local MPs voting records in parliament. "We stand here today and we say 'no more.' Lord knows we can't do this alone. We need to fight misogyny and end the war on women."
Click here for more information on War on Women or here for Reclaim These Streets.
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