-In the wake of Sarah Everard's death
and the conversation it has sparked
about violence against all women and girls,
Sadiq, who is currently campaigning for reelection,
pledged his continued commitment to tackling this issue.
When we spoke, he called systemic patriarchal violence
a public health issue, and said men must change.
However, it's worth noting that in London,
during Sadiq's time as mayor,
the number of reported rapes has risen,
but only 1 in 20 cases leads to a police charge.
Similarly, there has been
a 42% drop in the number of prosecutions
for domestic violence in the Capital,
according to recent figures from the Crown Prosecution Service.
So, it's clear that existing measures
and investment from the Mayor's office
has not touched the sides, and that more needs to be done
to keep women and girls safe in London.
♪♪
Hi, I'm Vicky Spratt from Refinery29.
I recently spoke to Labour's candidate
for Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan,
to ask him about his plan to make women and girls
feel safer in the Capital.
As part of his campaign for reelection,
Sadiq told me that during the pandemic,
he has invested £1.5 million to provide safe spaces
for the victims and survivors of domestic abuse
and said that these problems
were down to the unacceptable attitudes and behaviors of men.
♪♪
-When I'm on my own or I'm with one other friend and it's dark
and it's not very well lit, there isn't anyone about,
or there's, for example, a group of boys walking
or a man walking near me,
I think sometimes I do feel on edge
and ultimately, therefore, feel unsafe.
-If I'm walking alone in the middle of the day in London,
I feel relatively safe.
But I think the moment that it turns dark,
that's an entirely different story,
and I think that most women
living in largely populated cities would feel the same.
-Why is it that women and girls
almost have a self-imposed curfew at nighttime?
Because they don't feel safe.
-And he cited the behavior of men as a key problem,
because it's perpetuating what he called "toxic masculinity."
And he also said that men standing by
and doing nothing was as big a problem.
-There's other things I do as a human being
in relation to, you know, making women near me feel comfortable,
whether it's public transport;
whether it's walking the streets;
whether it's, you know, a live music venue or whatever.
But the reality is, I think men simply must examine our behavior
even though we're not breaking the law --
what we can do to make women more comfortable.
But also, there is a need for change in the law
when it comes to, for example,
sexual harassment in the public place.
So, it starts from behavior, attitudes, leading up to,
you know, sexist behavior.
It could be harassment, intimidation, threats, violence.
♪♪
-I think that there needs to be a focus on infrastructure
and mechanisms in place.
For example, better lighting on a well-lit street
so that, you know, I don't feel on edge or feel more unsafe
'cause I can't see or it's dark
and I don't really know what's around the corner.
But also, education.
I think that young men and boys need to be educated
on the issues that women face
because, ultimately, it is down to the behaviors of men
that we feel unsafe, and therefore, they should know this
and know what they can do to help us.
-I think when we talk about improving women's safety,
we need to talk about
implementing preventative measures,
and I think that starts in schools.
If young people can be educated
about misogyny from an early age,
then this can directly impact how many women experience
gender-based violence in the future
and for generations to come.
-This sounds good, but how do we actually make it happen?
I put that question to Sadiq and he said that's why
he supports a bottom-up approach of better education in schools
and a top-down approach of more legislation.
-And I think we should be looking at the education
in schools, from relationship education;
from sex education;
from the attitudes and behavior of boys and men --
which may be short of criminality,
but leads to women feeling unsafe.
-Again, this all sounds really good,
but the Mayor of London is a role in which
you cannot submit draft legislation to parliament
like you can if you're an MP.
So, I asked Sadiq, if he were to be reelected,
how he would go about making sure these national changes --
which would also benefit London --
are brought into practice.
-That includes me campaigning
for sexual harassment in the public place
to be made a criminal offense.
Stella Creasy first came to see me five years ago,
and she gave me a tutorial
on why misogyny should be a hate crime.
I'm disappointed that the bill going through Parliament
wasn't used as an opportunity
to address the big concerns people have.
-But let's be real.
In the wake of Sarah Everard's death
and the heavy-handed policing of a vigil held in her memory,
many women and girls say they do not feel safe
around authority figures like the police.
What would Sadiq say to those people?
How will we restore confidence in the police?
-Well, I hear you.
I understand that.
I can't pretend that's not how people are feeling.
And I think we've got to make sure that we engender
a situation where they can have trust and confidence --
not just in the police service,
but in the criminal justice system as well.
-Trust in the criminal justice system is also a huge problem.
In the London Rape Review,
which was conducted by Claire Waxman,
the woman appointed by Sadiq Khan
as London's first Commissioner for Victims.
It was revealed that only 6%
of rape allegations leads to a trial,
and only 3% lead to a conviction.
So, what else is Sadiq going to announce
as part of his campaign for reelection?
He wants to put forward measures to make it safer for women
to walk out and about at night.
These include safer walking and cycling routes
and measures to improve lighting in public areas.
The other candidates for mayor also have suggestions
as to how we tackle the issue of violence
against women and girls.
Shaun Bailey, the conservative candidate,
wants to introduce more CCTV.
Sian Berry from the Green Party
would set a zero target for murders in the Capital.
♪♪
Luisa Porritt from the Lib Dems says education is key.
♪♪
And Mandu Reid from the Women's Equality Party
says we need a specialist unit
for tackling sexual and domestic violence.
♪♪
-The one thing I would say is just listen to women.
Listen to our experiences, and help us find solutions
that won't make us feel unsafe,
because it's been far too long for us to feel like this.
♪♪