There is nothing unfamiliar for friends bidding farewell to each other, especially at night saying, “Text me when you get home”. Obviously, you do not say it with the thought that something actually awful might happen to your friend.
Most of the time, it is more of a gesture than genuine concern, right? But what happens when this saying becomes much more than that.
#TextMeWhenYouGetHome took many of us, users, by surprise. A little investigation into the matter has left us unnerved and bewildered.
What Is The Story Behind This Hashtag?
It was Sarah Everard who did not get to text back to her friend. A 33-year-old marketing executive from South London had gone to visit a friend in Clapham on the 3rd of March.
At around 9.00 PM, she left Clapham and started walking back home in Brixton. It would have taken her about 50 minutes on foot to reach Brixton.
The worst part of this story is that she never reached home. Her last call was to her boyfriend, which was for around 14 minutes. After which, she was last captured in a doorbell camera at 9.28 PM.
On the 4th of March, her boyfriend filed a police complaint. According to New York Times, after a meticulous search of around 750 houses as well as ponds or lakes in Clapham Common Park (as she is believed to have taken that route to home), the police have arrested a 48-year-old police constable.
His posting was at South London during this time and was not on duty when Sarah was on her way back home.
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A woman in her 30s has also been arrested as the police have suspected her to be complicit in this crime. These arrests were made almost a week after her disappearance. It was the 10th of March when her dead body was discovered around 56 miles away from where she was last spotted.
Why Is This Particular Hashtag Trending?
Trauma or abuse is something that women across borders and generations can relate to. Crime against women is not new to us. One of the Instagram posts said, “She was just walking back home”.
The immediate question is — Where did she go wrong? Why did this happen to her? Should she have been more vigilant? Was it wrong for her to walk back to her home at night? These six simple words, “text me when you get home” say it all.
The trend actually started with a personal trainer, Lucy, when she posted a very emotional note on Instagram highlighting the various concerns and issues regarding women’s safety.
The post hit home to more than 2 million people, and it took no time for the post and the hashtag to go viral.
The fact that this post resonated with so many people, particularly women, is indeed disheartening. It is high time for us to introspect the obvious devil here. That it is not women who need more protection and more security.
It is not women who need to be more careful. Because the next time you decide to put the burden on a woman, another culprit would walk free.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Edinburgh Evening News, The Indian Express, NBC News
Find The Blogger: @soumyaseema
The post is tagged under: Sarah Everard, South London, Kent, Clapham, Brixton, murder, disappearance, friend’s visit, crime, harassment, crime against women, abuse, Lucy, personal trainer, vigilant, emotional post, Instagram, text me when you get home, 3rd of March, boyfriend, blame on women, burden, police, Britain, 33-year-old, marketing manager, England, door bell camera, dead body, 56 miles away, 48-year-old constable, woman accomplice
