Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Life

    Sabina Nessa was killed on a five minute walk to the pub, and women don't feel safe

    On social media, there has been a shock reaction at the death of yet another young woman.

    Catriona Harvey-Jenner's avatar
    By Catriona Harvey-Jenner
    Published 23 September 2021 In Opinion

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Sabina Nessa
    Sabina Nessa's death is a reminder how unsafe women are
    (Image credit: Metropolitan Police)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    On social media, there has been a shock reaction at the death of yet another young woman.

    Sabina Nessa was a 28-year-old primary school teacher from London who, like so many other people her age, had planned to meet a friend at the pub on Friday night. But on the five minute walk there, Sabina was killed.

    The body of Sabina Nessa was discovered on Saturday 18 September near the OneSpace community centre in London's Kidbrooke. Police confirm the young woman had been walking through Cator Park, heading towards The Depot bar in Kidbrooke Village, when she was attacked. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan police said in a statement: "Sabina never arrived at the pub and is thought to have been murdered as she walked through the park."

    A postmortem examination was carried out on Sabina's body on Monday this week, but it returned inconclusive.

    Sabina's death comes at the same time as police in the US investigate the murder of 22-year-old Youtuber, Gabby Petito, who never returned from a campervan trip with her fiancé. It comes just months after the kidnap and brutal murder of Sarah Everard in London at the hands of a Metropolitan Police officer. And women are feeling scared.

    You may like
    • B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why
    • This Girl Can New Research Confirms Women's Biggest Barrier to Exercise Isn't Motivation—It's Safety
    • Football and Domestic Abuse: Women’s Aid: “He’s Coming Home” After England's World Cup Defeat, I Couldn't Stop Thinking About This Domestic Abuse Statistic

    "Only yesterday I had to take evasive action after a man decided to walk too close behind me. There are predators everywhere. Some kill, some attack, some just get a kick out of making you scared," wrote one woman on Twitter. "RIP Sabina. How dare this man have taken you," she continued.

    "Yesterday I was walking at dusk, reflecting on the nights getting longer - the shift that comes for women, in the months filled with more darkness than light; and remembering the fear and outrage so many felt in March," posted another, in reference to the protests following Sarah Everard's murder. "The problem endures," she added.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    Activist Gina Martin summed it up harrowingly, when she listed many of the circumstances women have been made to fear. Listing the names of 10 women who have lost their lives to male perpetrators - including Grace Millane, who was killed by a man she went on a Tinder date with, and Cathy Marlow, who was murdered by a colleague at work - Gina highlighted numerous everyday scenarios in which women have been unsafe.

    Summing up the desperate need for change, Gina added: "We aren’t safe because male violence is present in every part of society. More park lights, spike rings, rape alarms and even criminalisation won’t help this. Compulsory education programmes on gender and exploring masculinity early on, might."

    As the nights draw in once again, more women will clutch keys between their knuckles, fake loud phone calls, and take busier rather than quicker routes as they walk home. On average in the UK, a woman is killed every three days. It shouldn't be like this, and it shouldn't take the death of yet another woman to remind us of the urgency for change.

    Catriona Harvey-Jenner
    Catriona Harvey-Jenner
    Social Links Navigation

    Cat is a Senior Editor at Marie Claire, covering news and features across the brand's key purpose pillars, including women's issues, politics, career, mental health, female empowerment and equality, as well as books.

    Read more
    B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS
    Culture 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why
    This Girl Can
    Fitness New Research Confirms Women's Biggest Barrier to Exercise Isn't Motivation—It's Safety
     
     
    Football and Domestic Abuse: Women’s Aid: “He’s Coming Home”
    Life After England's World Cup Defeat, I Couldn't Stop Thinking About This Domestic Abuse Statistic
    Louise Thompson is campaigning for a Maternity Commissioner following the traumatic birth of her son.
    Life “It Is One Of The Grossest Failings In Humanity That Women Are Treated Like This”
     
     
    Latest in Life
    Wedding planning
    Relationships I Love My Fiancé, but I Resent the Emotional Labour of Planning Our Wedding
    Mischa Anouk Smith on a sunset boat trip along Türkiye’s Turquoise Coast
    Travel Forget Capri, Türkiye’s Turquoise Coast Is the Mediterranean’s New Luxury Hotspot
     
     
    Sensoria Dolomites
    Travel Part Ski Resort, Part Sanctuary, Sensoria Dolomites is Capturing the Wellness Zeitgeist
    Parched earth, a woman drinking water and London’s skyline illustrate drought and growing concerns around AI water use.
    Life I Investigated the Hidden Cost of AI. One Data Centre Can Use as Much Water as 10,000 People
     
     
    Latest in Opinion
    Wicker husband: Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Coleman in the new film Wicker
    Relationships Move Over Regular Men and AI Boyfriends, The “Wicker Husband” Has Arrived
    Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street
    Fashion “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress
     
     
    Open Bag Trend: ChanelFall Winter 2026, Ready to Wear
    Fashion Trends I'm Baffled by the "Open Bag" Trend, But It Perfectly Captures the World the Ultra-Rich Live In
    Football and Domestic Abuse: Women’s Aid: “He’s Coming Home”
    Life After England's World Cup Defeat, I Couldn't Stop Thinking About This Domestic Abuse Statistic
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.