Rape victim shown solidarity in NI wishes Sarah Everend could see support ‘shown to her’

In a Tweet author and activist Winnie M Li said: “A week after my rape, the people of West Belfast held a candlelight vigil to reclaim Colin Glen.

“I never forgot the solidarity shown to me, a complete stranger.

“I wish #SarahEverard could see this outpouring of support, the tide of our collective anger #ReclaimTheStreets #endVAWG”

She posted the Tweet as police in London clashed with mourners and protesters on Saturday after more than a thousand people gathered to mark the killing of the 33-year-old woman.

The protest took place hours after the police officer charged with her murder appeared in court.

Sarah Everard’s disappearance as she walked home on the evening of March 3 had led to a wave of accounts from women about the dangers of walking streets alone at night, and dismay at the failure of police and wider society to tackle this.

An impromptu memorial with flowers and candles sprang up around the bandstand on Clapham Common in southwest London, near where Sarah Everard was last seen alive.

Winnie M Li was raped in Colin Glen in 2008.

She has written about her experience and the healing process she was forced to undergo after it.