Many people in Harlow will have been deeply moved by Sarah Everard’s tragic murder. My heart goes out to her family and friends at this difficult time.

All too often, women fear for their safety. It is completely unacceptable that many feel as though they cannot walk home alone or go about their daily lives, without fear of harassment.

It is distressing, in this country, that women feel they must take precautions themselves to mitigate the risk of assault or abduction. A 2019 YouGov Poll found that one in three women regularly take steps to avoid being sexually assaulted.

According to a recent survey of women aged 18 to 24, 97 per cent said that they had been sexually harassed. 80 per cent said that they had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces. These figures are absolutely harrowing.

We must do more to make our streets feel safer and we should work to eliminate these problems that plague our society.

Tackling this problem is not just about the laws that we introduce but also about our attitudes. We must be proactive in providing further protections and greater support to women.

In my time as the MP for Harlow, I have worked with a number of constituents who have been victims of the most horrific cases of domestic abuse and sexual assault. I have seen first hand the devastating impacts that these crimes have upon victims and their families. These things should not be happening in a country such as ours.

Since 2010, the Government has introduced measures to strengthen powers relating to the specific offences of stalking, forced marriage, revenge pornography and coercive or controlling behaviour in an intimate relationship.

There is also a new landmark Domestic Abuse Bill currently progressing through Parliament.

I have also campaigned for stronger sentencing for sexual assaults and spoken in debates in Parliament. I was deeply saddened to understand that in 2020 only three out of 144 rape cases in Harlow were solved.

In Harlow, we are really fortunate to have some incredible services and charities that seek to provide support to women who may have experienced some of these things. But there is always more that can be done to make our streets safer.

I will continue to work with councillors on how we can make women feel safer in Harlow.

I also believe that the Government should look at this issue from a wider perspective and attempt to integrate character into the school curriculum. Alongside academic learning, we should be looking at the best way to teach decency, respect and kindness. Focus should be placed on these important values from an early age so that poor attitudes are not allowed to grow.

Robert Halfon MP

By email