Skip to content

Sarah Everard vigil: Hundreds gather at Exeter Cathedral

BBC People sitting down in a vigil outside Exeter CathedralBBC
Hundreds of people gathered outside Exeter Cathedral

Hundreds have gathered at a vigil in Exeter to highlight violence against women in the wake of Sarah Everard's death.

Protestors came together on the cathedral green on Saturday from around 18:00 GMT.

Many women came forward to share stories of the sexual and physical abuse and violence they have suffered.

One said: "I feel like it's a privilege I haven't been raped - that shouldn't be a privilege."

Another said women "shouldn't have to fight to walk the streets at night".

Hundreds sat down in front of Exeter Cathedral
Some of the attendees spoke to the crowd about their own stories of sexual assault

The organisers described themselves as a community "enraged by injustice" in the Facebook page for the event.

They wrote: "We need to listen to one another, to hear people who have been historically silenced."

The vigil comes a day after three men were arrested in connection with the sexual assault of two women on a University of Exeter campus on 7 March.

Three women sitting with protest signs