Protestors arrested at Sarah Everard’s vigil have reached a settlement agreement with the Metropolitan Police

In March 2021, Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens. Following the revelation that it was a serving police officer who had conducted this horrific attack against Sarah, demands for accountability and reform against the Met Police was at an all-time high.

One of the ways people chose to show their support for Sarah and to advocate for the end of violence against women and girls was to attend a vigil held in Sarah’s name. Instead of allowing the public to come together to show their support, Met Police officers demonstrated exactly why reform was necessary and why this vigil was happening in the first place. Patsy Stevenson and Dania Al-Obeid were two women arrested by police officers at the vigil. Patsy remembers a police officer saying ‘I’ve got my hand on my baton’ as he forcefully pulled her away to detain her. The viral picture of Patsy being held down on the floor and handcuffed was a key trigger to the global outrage that followed.

Patsy and Dania have now reached a settlement with the Met Police for an undisclosed sum. They have also received an apology and an acknowledgement of their fundamental right to protest. However, what happened to Sarah, and what happened to Patsy and Dania as a result, is further evidence that more needs to be done to eradicate the culture of misogyny and violence against women amongst the Met Police.