How Safe Are The Streets Of Havering For Women?

Last weekend, Havering was shaken once again by another horrific crime — the rape of a 15-year-old girl. As appalling as rape is in any context, this attack strikes at the very heart of our community, magnified by the fact that the victim was a child. It raises the question we are now forced to ask: just how safe are the streets of Havering, particularly for women and girls?

This disturbing incident will undoubtedly heighten concerns already felt by many women across the borough. Fear and anxiety about walking alone at night are not new, but they are growing. Women have told us they often feel vulnerable — especially when faced with groups of men loitering outside shops, smoking, swearing, and spitting. What may seem like harmless behaviour to some causes real dread for others who have no choice but to walk past. Men harassing women, not leaving them alone, trying to follow them. The list of incidents seem to be increasing and more and more social media posts report unpleasant incidents all involving men intimidating women.

Romford, once a popular destination for shopping and socialising, is now a place some actively avoid. The subways, dimly lit and lacking visible CCTV, feel threatening even in broad daylight — at night, they’re worse. These spaces are meant to serve the public but instead make women feel exposed and unsafe.

Many local women now plan every aspect of their journey when heading out in the evening — from their route to how they’ll get home and whether someone will be waiting. Some choose cabs over public transport. Some walk with keys between their fingers. Others don’t go out at all.

The reality is, it’s not just women who feel unsafe — men do too. But for women, the threat carries a particular weight, a fear rooted in lived experience and worsened by each fresh headline. And when the police numbers in our borough continue to fall — not due to their own failure, but because of a long-term lack of funding and support — who is left to keep us safe?

This isn’t the first rape to occur in Havering, and heartbreakingly, without action, it won’t be the last. The fear is real. The anxiety is constant. The demand for visible policing and safer public spaces has never been louder. And yet, women are still walking home looking over their shoulders.

So what now? What measures are in place to protect women and girls? Are our streets being made safer?

The attack on a 15-year-old girl must be a line in the sand. Our community deserves better. Women deserve better. It’s time for local authorities, police leadership, and the wider public to come together and stand united against violence towards women and girls.

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