Edinburgh vigil for Sabina Nessa organised for tonight at 7pm on The Meadows

TW: Male violence, murder and misogyny

A vigil for Sabina Nessa is being held tonight in The Meadows (near the Millennium Stone Junction on Middle Meadow Walk) at 7pm.

The event is being held to remember and mourn Nessa, a teacher who was murdered whilst walking through a park in South East London.

It has been organised by Strut Safe, a volunteer group run by Edi students and grads dedicated to getting people home safely.

Their founder Alice Jackson (a recent Edi grad) told us Strut Safe had organised the vigil because “Sabina deserved so much better than this” and that we “deserve safety”.

Nessa was a 28-year-old teacher who lived in Kidbrooke, South East London.

She was murdered whilst walking through a park to meet a friend a pub just five minutes from her flat.

It is believed the incident happened around 8:30pm (before it got dark) and her body was found the next day by a member of the public.

The Metropolitan Police have since launched a murder investigation, arresting a man on suspicion of murder before releasing him under further investigation. Police believe the suspect is still at large.

However, the police and local council have come under fire from campaigners after handing out 200 rape alarms to women and vulnerable residents in Kidbrooke in response to Nessa’s murder

Although this is just one woman murdered over 400 miles away, Nessa’s death has struck a chord with many women across the UK and the world. Vigils were held last night in Kidbrooke and Lewisham (where Nessa worked as a teacher) and dozens of others have been planned for this weekend across the rest of the country.

It is the feeling that it “could’ve been any one of us” that prompted Strut Safe to organise this vigil in The Meadows tonight – a place in Edinburgh where women often report feeling unsafe whilst walking alone at night.

The co-founder of Strut Safe, Alice Jackson, told us: “She was walking a five minute walk through a well lit and busy park on the way to meet a friend early in the evening. It’s something we all do, every day.”

“This isn’t a problem that more “precautionary measures” can solve. They have never worked and never been enough. Women are not public objects; to be touched, harassed, assaulted or murdered. They deserve safety. It is never their fault. We can never be responsible for the actions committed against us.

“Sabina deserved so much more than this, every woman does. We ask that you join us to mourn her and so many others we have lost to violence. Rest in power, Sabina.”

Image credits: Metropolitan Police 

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