‘Nowhere is safe for a woman’

By Regina Motalib, Local Democracy Reporter

A young woman who lives close to the Kidbrooke park where primary school teacher Sabina Nessa’s body was discovered has expressed her disappointment with the police and said she fears for her safety more than ever.

Jay, 21 (not her real name), said: “The police are not doing enough to make young women feel safe.

They were giving out rape alarms following the murder. They should prevent these attacks on women instead of expecting us women to do more to stay safe.”

The office worker said how on the night Sabina’s body was discovered, her female neighbour was denied access home by the police.

She said: “My neighbour had to take a much longer and more remote route just to get home.

“She was already feeling anxious and was absolutely terrified once she found out a young woman had been murdered.

“Ironically, my neighbour’s safety could have been compromised that night. The police on duty didn’t seem to think her welfare was their responsibility.

“They didn’t think of the possible consequences of this local lone female having to find an alternative route home after such a terrible incident.”

Jay lives in a block of flats overlooking part of Cator Park.

She was horrified to hear of Sabina Nessa’s murder and feels this tragic incident resonated a lot with her as she is also a young woman living and working in London.

She said: “As a young woman I no longer feel safe walking around alone. This could have happened to me or anyone. It is just so sad.

“Just like many of the other residents watching the sequence of events of this horrendous incident unfold, I was thinking ‘this is just too much’,” Jay has lived in the area since she was a child and knows the area well.

She said: “I used to go on a lot of runs but I try to avoid this park as it’s not the nicest place and unpleasant things have happened here in the past. I don’t think anywhere is safe for young women.

“It’s a constant reminder. When I get off the train at night, I’m walking home and thinking I don’t know who is behind me.

“The other day I was on the train and everyone was talking about this murder. One girl said her brother was collecting her from Bexleyheath. When a few of us women said Kidbrooke is our stop, she just said ‘good luck’.”

Jay has had to alter her usual route home and feels most women have to plan a safer route and consider their personal safety much more.

Ms Nessa was killed while she left her home to walk to a nearby pub to meet a friend.

The 28-year-old teacher’s death comes six months after another woman was killed as she walked through a South London park.

Marketing executive Sarah Everard, 33, was killed in March this year by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home after meeting a friend in Clapham.

A Met spokesman said: “Crime scene preservation is an integral part of a police investigation and best practice states that a scene is preserved at the earliest opportunity.

“This often requires officers to put up cordons around a large area in the early stages of an incident to ensure any potential evidence is secured.

While this can be an inconvenience to residents, any members of the public can speak to officers should they have any concerns.”