Women Come Together After Sarah Everard Death: 'Text Me When You Get Home'

Women all around the world are mourning the death of Sarah Everard, even if they didn’t know her. The 33-year-old was brutally murdered while walking home alone, something that many women fear in today’s society.

Everard went missing on March 3 in South London and her remains were found over 50-miles away from where she was last seen just a few days later.

Officer Wayne Couzens, a London Metropolitan Police Officer, whose “primary role was uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic premises,” has been charged with her kidnapping and murder, according to CNN. He was arrested on Tuesday and charged on Friday.

His first court hearing is set for Saturday and his second appearance will be on March 16, the met police reported.

Women feel connected to this case in particular due to the nature of the crime. They’ve shared their experiences and how easily this could have happened to anyone by expressing that they have to be on their guard when walking alone, walking past a large group of men and even walking to their car in broad daylight.

A post circulated on Instagram throughout last week that showed a text bubble that said, “Text me when you get home xx.” The caption explained why this is second nature for women to send to other women when they part ways.

“We have all shared our live locations. We have all changed our shoes. We have all held our keys between our fingers. We have all made phone calls, both real and fake. We have all tucked our hair inside our coats. We have all ran down dark roads. We have all theorized our escape routes,” it read.

“I wish more men understood the fact that we cannot walk alone at night with headphones in. That whenever we get in Ubers, there’s the lingering thought this could be it. That whenever you say ‘they’re just being friendly,' you are part of the problem. That whenever we walk past groups of men, our heart beats a little bit faster. That whenever we shout back at sexual harassment in the street, we take yet another gamble at risking our safety,” it continued.

A group called Reclaim These Streets has announced that in honor of Everard, they’re asking for everyone in London, or around the world to stand on their porches at 9:30 p.m. and shine a light.