This article references police brutality, suicide, and violence against women.
When Patsy Stevenson attended a vigil to mourn Sarah Everard in March 2021, she couldn't have foreseen how much it would change her life in the coming years. The Metropolitan Police – who were roundly criticised for their heavy-handed management of the vigil – arrested Patsy under Covid-19 laws. The next day, photos of Patsy being arrested were plastered across social media and the front pages.
In the next two years, Patsy and Dania Al-Obeid (who was also arrested at the vigil) mounted a legal challenge against the Met Police over their arrests. They have now been given payouts and apologies.
Here, Patsy Stevenson reflects on how her life has changed in the two years since the vigil, the emotional toll it's taken, and why there's still more work to do…
Two and a half years on from being arrested at the Sarah Everard vigil, we finally received what is being called an ‘apology’ from the Met Police.
I remember first talking to the legal team at Bindmans that helped me. I didn’t trust them because I didn’t trust anyone at that point. People had been spreading rumours and conspiracies about me being an actress or posing for the photos. I was never able to set any record straight because when going through a legal case, you can’t really talk about the incident, or it could diminish the entire thing.
I had to learn so much legal jargon, have hour-long meetings, and try to understand what we needed to do. At every hurdle, my lawyers helped me understand each option with pros and cons, finally landing us with a settlement from the Met with an apology.
This apology, however, didn’t actually include the word ‘sorry’. Instead, the Met expressed their regret at them ‘curtailing’ our right to mourn that day. We didn’t expect much accountability from them because we have never had accountability; many people try to get justice in the face of the Met but fall short.
I have been writing and doing interviews about this case and others for years; whenever I mention other cases, I usually get told it’s not going to air. For example, Chris Kaba's family are still fighting for justice against the Met Police. Today, the CPS confirmed that a police officer will be charged with the murder of Chris Kaba.
“I got a lot of media attention when I was arrested – partly because I’m a white woman.”
The media itself is often complicit in the silencing of black and brown people when it comes to racism in the UK. Most stories of minority groups receiving abuse often go unheard. I got a lot of media attention when I was arrested – partly because I’m a white woman.
The Black and brown communities have already faced atrocities at the hands of police and continue to do so, but a lot of people only pay attention once a white woman is arrested. This isn’t how it should have happened; people should have been listening all along.
"One of my best friends is a police officer, and I have to constantly message her saying: ‘It’s not about you’.
The legal battle has been exhausting, I often have nightmares about the incident, and through death threats and hate comments, I almost took my own life. I’m now receiving therapy and working through it.
I was never and have never been the ‘face’ of the vigil, and I hate that rhetoric; it was a vigil for Sarah; we said her name a thousand times at the vigil. Having no knowledge or understanding of the media, no media training and doing everything on my own, I made many mistakes. People will often shower you with compliments to get you to do things for them when you have a platform.
“The main issue with the police as an institution is systemic racism.”
I was studying at Royal Holloway University of London when I went to the vigil; I wanted to be in STEM, and maybe make documentaries about physics because I wanted young women to see more female role models in the science field. I failed my degree because of the hate mail and not being able to juggle talking about women’s rights on huge platforms while studying profusely. I’m happy with where I am now, though; I do have a platform that I hope to use to amplify voices and speak up where others can’t.
Taking on the Met was one of the hardest things I’ve done, but we had a lot of media coverage, support from women’s organisations and a great legal team.
It's really important for all of us to recognise that the main issue with the police as an institution is systemic racism; if we are not tackling that, first and foremost, there is no point in fighting.
I hope that one day, people can live without fear of being racially profiled, harassed, assaulted and abused by a boys club who are so close to the justice system that they get away with it. Until then, we need to keep the public pressure on.
Right now, 1,000 Metropolitan Police officers are currently suspended or on restricted duties with another 450 being investigated for historic allegations of sexual or domestic violence.
