News

Last Monday we celebrated International Women’s Day – a day about coming together and championing equality. However, by the end of the week we were reminded that even here in the 21st century women are not safe.

Alongside many people across the UK, the news of Sarah Everard’s kidnap and murder has shocked us, and our thoughts go out to her family, friends and loved ones.

It’s an uncomfortable reality to realise that every woman in your life will have their own story - or stories - of fear, harassment and attack. And, it’s deeply disturbing to know that women will look at this horrific attack and think to themselves “it could have been me”.

The harassment and violence that some women face whilst going about their daily lives is unacceptable. As men, we have a collective responsibility to help women to feel safe; we cannot assume we know what they need us to do to help them to feel safe but we can ask them, listen to them and stand with them. We can take steps forward to create a world where our female relatives, friends, colleagues and loved ones can go about their daily lives without fear or risk of violence or harassment.

At Flagship, we stand united in solidarity with Sarah and every single woman who has been affected by violence and harassment. We will not tolerate it. Sarah Everard’s death is tragic proof that we must aim for a much better future and build a society with the highest standards of equality and justice. Flagship has been built on a foundation of mutual respect, and we will do all that we can to create a positive environment for everyone.

We will stand with you, stand up for you and stand against this. We must all take responsibility for creating a better and fairer world.

David McQuade, CEO