THE tragic death of Sarah Everard has prompted an outpouring of shock, grief and anger as women across the North-East share their own experiences of feeling unsafe.

Jessie Joe Jacobs, Labour candidate for Tees Valley mayor, has a ‘Me Too’ story, as “all women do”.

She said: “Violence against women is an everyday experience, not just those who are vulnerable. And even if you don’t experience it, you fear it.

“You don’t walk through a park at night, you don’t run via a cycle path, you try not to walk alone or in quiet places, even in the daytime.

“I believe in the power of people’s voices to make changes, but this one seems so deep rooted it would take a whole community approach.”

If elected, Ms Jacobs says she will put women's issues at the top of her agenda.

It comes as a survey for UN Women UK found that 97 per cent of women aged 18 to 24 said they have been sexually harassed.

Now, women across the North-East have revealed what it is like feel “constantly powerless”.

Joanna remembers “practically running” to meet her boyfriend on the other side of an underpass.

She said: “Nothing in particular happened that day. I’m always frightened walking through underpasses, they’re not usually well lit, underpopulated and out of sight. Feels like they’re probably among the easiest places to target someone walking alone.

“The constant feeling of powerlessness is awful."

Diane, from Darlington, says women amongst her running groups are “very nervous” about night-time runs and plan routes taking to account “risk”.

She added: “I would never walk home alone from a night out and neither does my daughter. My son and husband have no issue doing any of those things.”

Another Darlington woman, who did not want to be named, never leaves the house in shoes she can’t run in - if she does, she takes a spare pair.

She said: “I was living as a student in Manchester during the Yorkshire ripper years, and feel so sad nothing has changed; we still do not feel able to just walk outside without having to do a full risk assessment first.

“If anything, things have worsened.”

Natalie was walking home in Stockton when a man followed her.

She said: “He told me that he could rape and attack me if he wanted to. He then kept walking in front of me and stopping then staring at me.

“I pretend to call someone and that I was meeting them round the corner. This seemed to have spooked him a little. Thankfully a cyclist came and I ran home.

“I think for most women like myself, we are reminded that we could have been Sarah. Things need to change. No woman should have to walk in fear of being killed or attacked.”

One woman was university in Middlesbrough when she was mugged.

She said: “He had his hood up so now I panic and I can feel my heart rate rising if a man of this description passes me. Even though I know every man isn’t like this one, it is a feeling I can’t control.

“It was seven years ago and even now it terrifies me that it could happen again.”

Claire, who takes evening classes at Teesside University, leaves lectures before it gets dark in preparation the five-minute walk to her car. If it is dark, she takes a 15-minute detour through a better-lit area.

She said: “I walk as close to a group of mixed or females as I can, even if I don’t know them.

“I hold my keys between my fingers, make sure my bag is across my body and my phone in my hand in my pocket.

“I try not to wear feminine clothes on those days and I tuck my long hair into my coat so I am not noticeably female. I get very anxious on these days. When I can, I will study from home to avoid this situation.”

Shannon, who wears a ring “that sticks out” so people think she is married, also shared her experience while at a train station on her way to care for her granddad.

She said: “A man asked me if he was at the correct platform, I was polite and courteous like girls are taught to be and told him he was.

“This led to a series of events which included him grabbing my hands to ‘read my palm’, him removing my face mask, whilst he wasn’t wearing one properly, and him kissing me goodbye. All whilst I told him no.

“I spent two hours of my day at the police station instead of caring for my granddad.”

She added: “There’s not a single friend of mine who hasn’t been sexually assaulted or harassed, this includes my female family too."

Laura has a close friendship group of five girls, two of who have been raped.

She said: "It’s a completely different experience walking down a street on my own compared to when I’m with a guy friend or family.

"Things are shouted at me, I am told to smile almost daily. Women don't have to smile.

"The issue for me is when I speak to my guy friends they know it’s going on but they don’t realise how often it happens."

The Northern Echo: A snapshot of the reborn ‘Reclaim the Streets’ protests from 2010 to 2017, protesting violence against women. Picture: PAULA SMITH

Tracy McGuire, district secretary at Darlington National Education Union, stresses the importance of education around violence against women.

She said: “Education plays a huge role in this because we need to talk about it openly and why it happens.

“We are taught about safety and keeping ourselves safe which is a reactive way of dealing with this.

“The focus should not be on how women dress or that we shouldn’t be out alone at a certain time. As a society, we should be talking about women as equals, that everyone has the freedom to dress or be out alone without the fear of repercussions.

“I have two sons who I talk to openly about this. We know that it is not all men, but we shouldn’t have to apologise for talking about violence against women, and we shouldn’t need to qualify it.”

Newton Aycliffe woman Paula Smith, who helped to organise 2010 to 2017 Reclaim the Night protests in Leeds while a student there, is disheartened by the lack of change.

She said: “Protests happened in the 1970s and in 2010s and now. Where are women safe? Not on the streets, not on public transport. There needs to be policy change.”

Family Help, Darlington’s women’s refuge, says most women are attacked by people they know, not strangers.

A spokesperson said: “Sarah Everard was simply walking home. She followed all the societal ‘rules’ that are placed on women in order for them to ensure their safety. Yet, Sarah was still unsafe. She didn’t make it home.

“Of the 2,075 women murdered in the last decade, 57 per cent were murdered by someone known to them in contrast to 13 per cent by strangers.

“Although it is important for women and girls to remain vigilant when walking the streets alone at any time of day, it is important to remember that murders committed by strangers are rare.

“92 per cent of female victims of violent attacks know their perpetrator.

“Violence against women is an epidemic worsened by a pandemic.”