It's time that we stand up for our rights.

I would call myself a feminist. I was raised by my mum and grandma; two strong, quirky and capable women. I have, however, never really felt the level of emotion that some other feminists feel, and I don't always agree with some of the more extreme feminism (the hating of men; the unequal treatment of trans women; critizing women for their choice to stay at home and raise children or work in the adult entertainment industry, if it's their choice)

But the death of Sarah Everard has really made me angry and sad. She was abducted and killed (by a police officer, if they have arrested the right man) and all she did was walk home.

She wore bright clothing, told her boyfriend her location, stayed on the main road, and she was still abducted.

And everytime something happens like this, us women are told to "stay vigilant, stay in groups, don't walk home alone and stay indoors in the dark" .

Some women don't have that luxury to do that.

And you know what? I'm tired of having to do that. I'm tired of women being in the wrong. Why doesn't anyone tell the men that are going around abducting/ assualting women not to do it.

I'm a big believer in we all (whatever gender you identify with) should do whatever we can to keep ourselves safe, but sometimes that's not enough, as the murder of Sarah proved.

I'm tired of people saying "it was her fault for being out at 9.30 pm" (some shops close at 10pm or later) or "women get told not to go out alone".

Why is it always our fault? Why don't people blame the men who do these things? 

And there's a new bill going through parliament that gives more protection to a statue than it does to a woman.

That's how bad it's got. The order of importance in this country is:

Men

Statues

Women.

I want us to feel safe walking outside. It's our human right to do that. It's our right to be able to walk alone at any time of day and be safe.

It's not about hating men either (as women have been accused of) of course millions of men would never hurt a woman. The problem is, plenty more would and it's those men that need to be taken off our streets.

We need to stand up for the right to feel safe everywhere. And that's not a feminist issue. It's a human rights issue. Because, believe it or not, us women matter.