Thousands of people gathered in South London on Saturday for a vigil to pay tribute to Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman whose body was found on Friday, despite police warnings that the event would defy coronavirus restrictions.
According to The New York Times, the killing has touched off a national reckoning in Britain over violence against women.
The crowd chanted "Shame on you!" and "How many more!" In what became a rally against gender violence, some clapped their hands and others held tea lights or signs that read "End Violence Against Women."
NYT further reported that the event, in Clapham Common, near where Everard was last seen on March 3, had drawn small groups at first, with people gathering in silence around a memorial where flowers had been laid in her memory. Earlier, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, also laid flowers at the memorial.
A police officer by the name of Wayne Couzens, has been charged with kidnapping and murdering Everard. The New York Times further reported that a court had ruled late Friday that the gathering could be deemed unlawful because of Covid-19 restrictions, and the police had urged prospective attendees to stay home.
Orgzers eventually relented and called for a national doorstep vigil, though in the end that did not dissuade people from going to the park anyway.
Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, was last seen on March 3 in the Clapham neighborhood of south London. The police said on Wednesday that human remains had been found as part of their investigation into her disappearance, prompting an outpouring of grief from lawmakers, community leaders and London residents.
( With inputs from ANI )
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