As we remember murdered women, we must all redouble our efforts against gender-based violence

Tributes left at Queens Park, Glasgow, in memory of Sarah Everard, murdered by a serving police officer in London last year (Picture: John Devlin)

Brightly coloured, they demanded attention, these rare beasts, joyful, endorphin-filled and enjoying the company of other women runners. Not running away, just running for the love of it. I have come across a few of these women running groups recently on dark dog-walking nights, when I berate the dog’s inability to resist the urge to urinate when it’s raining and a night for staying in.

I don’t see many single women runners, there’s safety and company in numbers, particularly on dark nights. In a group there’s always someone faster to set the pace, and it’s a great place to meet new people.

Security is a driving factor for many in a running group who would never consider going out on a dark night alone. Regardless of the statistics about how much less recorded crime there is, we know there is crime that never meets the police databases. Despite all the talk of safety, we know that women don’t feel safe in a myriad of situations.

Conversations with my daughter, who worked late nights in a bar, focused around waiting for the night bus, not wearing ear buds when she left work and keeping her wits about her. She left the job recently, weary of the everyday sexism and leaving work late, often walking the three miles home at 2am. It’s a familiar story, although many places provide taxis for staff leaving work in the middle of the night.

Of course, I know young men often experience threat and violence and this is not to overlook that, I spent decades in violence reduction. However during the recent 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, we were reminded of how unsafe women feel and are, the unrelenting volume of women subjected to domestic abuse and the services who manage the highly skilled and tricky process of supporting women who experience this.

The horrifying (it is an incredibly tough read) Counting Dead Women project, run by Karen Ingala Smith, is testimony to the women murdered since 2015 and is part of the femicide census, bringing together the murders of women since 2009. There is learning in her work that is important for all of us who strive to prevent violence, about common patterns, indications and missed opportunities for women who have asked for help, approached services, only for the danger to go unrecognised.

Services have improved, colleagues in policing take this seriously and with a sense of urgency, not to mention the refuges for those needing assistance. My own team skill up people across Scotland in the Caledonian system, managing those who perpetrate domestic abuse. It’s long-term and high intensity with integrated women and children support services. We are all trying to be better, this needs all of us, the neighbours, the family, the passers-by.

As you read through the list of women who would have been preparing for Christmas, or the holiday and also think of the children who will be forever defined by the loss of their parent, it is beholden on us all to harden our resolve.

Here’s to the runners in the dark.

Karyn McCluskey is chief executive of Community Justice Scotland

As we remember murdered women, we must all redouble our efforts against gender-based violence – Karyn McCluskey