Sadiq Khan Talks Misogyny And Combatting Rape

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The last week has been a deeply uncomfortable one for almost every woman I know. The tragic death of Sarah Everard has triggered an outpouring of anger from women in the UK who feel let down by their past and present governments, the police and society in general, for not better protecting women as we walk the streets, take public transport, hang out in bars and nightclubs.

And then, when we find our voice to report a crime, we are not protected by the system either. Thousands upon thousands of women have shared their stories on social media of living in constant fear of being at the receiving end of inappropriate and violent behaviour at the hands of men - ranging from unwanted wolf-whistling, sexual comments in the workplace and even in the school environment, to inappropriate touching in bars to more serious experiences of being followed home at night, stalked, attacked and raped. The issue is so endemic to our patriarchal society, that a recent ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales has shown that nearly a quarter of women have experienced attempted sexual assault since the age of 16, while one in 14 have experienced rape or attempted rape.

Added to this, the appalling police mishandling of women at the Sarah Everard vigil and the news this week that misogyny is finally going to be treated as a hate crime by the police, it seemed a good time to speak to the person in charge of keeping Londoners safe, Mayor Sadiq Khan, ahead of the Mayoral elections in May to find out what more needs to be done to protect women, and why, despite investments into supporting women, the number of rape allegations in London rose by 15.3 percent between 2019 and 2020, but only one in 20 cases lead to a police charge. Almost every woman I know is afraid to walk the streets alone at night. As the person whose job it is to keep Londoners safe , these statistics can’t be something he’s proud of?

“Well, firstly, I've got to have the humility as a man to say, no matter how empathetic I am, I've not got your same lived experiences. I can't pretend because of me reciting to you the record investment we've put in, the policies we've got, that you don't feel fearful. It is a fact that you do, as you've just articulated. These [statistics] are a double concern. I'm not willing to accept that we should be happy that the reason it's gone up is because women are more confident reporting it. That's a lazy explanation for rape complaints going up. My view is if rape allegations are going up, it's because rape is going up. And we need to take steps to address that.” Such as what, though? “We need to address the fact that very often when a woman is brave enough to make a complaint of rape, she often won't carry it through because it takes almost two years now from date of allegation of rape to trial reaching its conclusion. And that's why the attrition rate is so poor. I'm afraid it's been made worse by courts closing down over the last 10 years and the massive backlog caused by COVID.”

The day after we speak it’s announced that misogyny is going to be enshrined in law as a hate crime as of this autumn. Is this going far enough? “I’ve been calling for misogyny to be a hate crime for over a year,” he says. “My view, and I say this as somebody who's been Mayor for five years, is, unless you record it, you don't have action to actually take steps against it. So for example, if somebody's committed an offence and the view of women was a factor, that should lead to a longer sentence. These are aggravating features that should be taken into account by the criminal justice system. We have to ask, How do the police, for example, and the criminal justice system, respond to complaints being made?"

With the Mayoral election coming up on May 6th, I wonder what specifically would he do differently if he is given another five years, to make sure that rape convictions go up and also women still feel comfortable coming forward? And also that rate actually goes down? ”I'm working closely with The Criminal Justice System to make sure action is taken to not just improve success at conviction, but to give women confidence to come forward. I’ve been working with Claire Waxman, London’s first Victim’s commissioner, since I became Mayor. She’s done a great job working with the CPS collaboration service, working with the judiciary, working with victims and witness groups to make sure we address the issue of attrition. We’re trying to put pressure on the government to act on some of those recommendations. This week, I've announced additional support to victim's groups and survivor's groups because we've noticed that actually, where a complainant receives support from a group, she's more likely to continue with the process. In five years, we've announced from City Hall, £62 million of additional support because the problem is often when you make a complaint, you feel lonely, isolated, and it's a really horrible environment. And so we've got to make sure women continue in the process of justice occurring.”

But what about ‘lesser’ misogyny such as wolf whistling - should these be made a crime?

This incredible woman is working tirelessly to help London’s domestic abuse survivors

“It's difficult to make wolf whistling a criminal offence unless there's a change in law. We need to change legislation where there's a need to do so, but also change the public's behaviour as well.” Sadiq says he has a “concern that the conversation is too much about protecting women and not enough about addressing male behaviour. And so, and I speak as somebody who has got to reflect on my own behaviour and my gender's behaviour, we have to look at how we behave in schools, in bars, how these microaggressions to the recipient are not how it's intended by the man.”

As a mother of a son, I believe the teaching has to come firstly from within the home, but also every institution throughout a boy’s life - school, youth clubs and of course, the work place. Does he agree? “We've got to use the opportunity to look at everything, a review about how boys, in particular, are educated from reception, primary, secondary, look at PHSE. A lot of this is nurture, not nature. It’s really important we address that. We need positive role models for boys to make sure that they know what is good and acceptable behaviour. We've got to stop telling girls to change the way they dress and they act because of the behaviour of boys and men. That in a way is indirectly victim blaming.”

I wonder if he’s talking from personal experience as a father himself, of two twenty-something daughters. Have they been sharing their own stories with him?

“I've had these conversations with friends who are girls for many, many years. Not just my girls, and my wife as well. And it's really important as a bloke, you are emotionally intelligent and listen. Don't talk, just listen. And hear some of the stories that women have in relation to what they do on a daily basis that it's almost built in. The more you tell these stories, you're educating men. We need to hear these stories.”

These are the stats you need if you're exhausted in engaging with the #NotAllMen conversations

Sadiq came out in condemnation of the way the vigil was handled by police last week and says “I don't think it was done sensitively. I've been unhappy about what happened and indeed angry. And I’m not being satisfied with the explanation given by the police. I've asked the independent watchdog, there are two of them, Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary and also the Independent Office for Police Conduct to look into how the vigil was policed to see what they think about it and see if there are any lessons that need to be learned.” He doesn’t believe Cressida Dick should resign, but I wonder what his thoughts on the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill that's being put forward by Priti Patel? A bill that many consider is an infringement on their civil liberties and right to protest in a democratic society.

“I have real concerns about the bills going through Parliament. There is more attention spent on these bills protecting statues, important though they are, than the rights of women and girls. And that in itself speaks volumes of the priorities of this government. One of the great things about living in a democracy is not simply the ability to vote out politicians you don't like, but it's things like protests, it's freedom of speech. It's these civil liberties that we've had for a long, long time and some are enshrined in human rights, which makes me suspicious when certain politicians talk about removing and abolishing the Human Rights Act. One of the things about Saturday's vigil that should make us careful about removing the right to protest is, what could happen when discretion is exercised wrongly? And yes, of course there's an awful pandemic happening now, and we've got to make sure we don't inadvertently, by protesting, pass the virus on. But since I was little, it's been an important part of democracy. From protesting against a racist bookshop, to protesting against laws being passed by governments, or protecting against policies of not just the current government, but also of other governments as well.”

You’ve protested throughout your adult life..?

“Oh yeah. Absolutely. I protest often. And I remember almost being beaten up at one. I ran a protest in Eltham when Steven Lawrence was murdered. I got chased away by the far right…”

Before our time is up, I quickly remind him that last time he spoke to Glamour ten months ago, he said something like, "Just remember, it might be like this for a few weeks." Could he ever have imagined in a million years we'd still be here a year later?

“No. And one of the reasons why we are, I'm afraid, is because the government didn't realise that the health of individuals is linked to the health of the economy. It's inextricably linked. And to give the government credit, they've learned their lessons and the roadmap is the way out. And I'm really looking forward to not just June the 21st, and I can finally hug my mum again after a year. And also, I can't wait to go to a restaurant, a bar, to a gig. And, Deborah (he calls me by my name 5 times in this interview), you may even see me, for the first time in 25 years, going clubbing, doing embarrassing dad dancing. I've missed people so much.”

In a week of tense conversations with so many men in our lives regarding society’s treatment of women, it’s refreshing to speak to someone in power who’s listening. See you in the nightclub queue, Sadiq, I’ll be the one doing embarrassing mum dancing.

I've been sexually assaulted, harassed and followed home. No, it’s not all men, but yes they were all men

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