A vigil is being held for Sabina Nessa in Kidbrooke on Friday

Sabina Nessa, a 28-year-old teacher living in south east London, was killed last week on a five minute walk from her house in Kidbrooke. Her body was found in Cator Park the next day, with press response being significantly delayed after the attack.

A community group have joined Reclaim These Streets in organising a vigil to “acknowledge her life” and stand in solidarity “against violence against women”, which will take place at 7.00pm tomorrow, Friday 24th September, in Pegler Square near the scene of the crime.

Being the group most central to the Sarah Everard vigils earlier this year, Reclaim These Streets are known advocates for women’s rights to safety while walking alone. “It’s deeply sad and shocking when something like this happens in your community,” they say on Twitter. “Thank you to all the women in the Kidbrooke community for organising this vigil.”

Since the news has broken, there has been significant social media backlash at the delay in reporting Sabina’s murder in comparison to Sarah Everard’s, and anger that violence against women is continually allowed to happen.

Sadiq Khan, London Mayor, has expressed this violence as an “epidemic”, stated that misogyny should be a hate crime, and street harassment a criminal offence, however has arguably not stepped up to this problem enough.

The news of Sabina Nessa’s murder also comes as it is found that 77 women have been murdered in the last six months, meaning that “more than 100 women in total have been killed by men in the UK since the start of 2021.”

The Metropolitan Police have since launched a murder investigation, arresting a man on suspicion of murder before releasing him under further investigation. Sabina was reportedly walking to the pub to meet her friends when she was killed.

Detective Inspector Joe Garrity said: “Sabina never arrived at the pub and is thought to have been murdered as she walked through the park. Her journey should have taken just over five minutes but she never made it to her destination. We know the community are rightly shocked by this murder – as are we – and we are using every resource available to us to find the individual responsible.”

On Instagram and Twitter, Reclaim These Streets have detailed information of the vigil on Friday, which doesn’t just mourn Sabina but all women who have been victims to violence and have had their stories unspoken. For those who can’t attend, they say: “Please light a candle at 7.00pm on your doorstep.”

If you are attending the vigil on Friday and want to share your story or any photos, please contact [email protected] or @thelondontab on Instagram.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• A lot of promises were made after Sarah Everard’s death, but what has actually changed?

• Say her name: This is how you can help raise awareness of Sabina Nessa’s murder

• 77 women have been killed by men in the last six months. How many more need to die?