Davina McCall condemned over ‘unhelpful and hurtful’ Sarah Everard tweet

TV presenter likened outpouring of grief and anger to ‘fear-mongering’

Davina McCall has come under fire for suggesting that the online response to Sarah Everard’s disappearance has amounted to “fear-mongering”.

Everard’s disappearance last week has triggered an outpouring of anger about violence against women in society, with many using Twitter to share stories of their own experiences. Wider discussions about sexual violence, misogyny and everyday harassment against women have additionally taken place.

Men have also been called upon to fix their own behaviour, or to call out male friends and associates who contribute to the hostility and violence frequently perpetuated against women.

McCall suggested she felt uneasy with such a reaction in a Friday (12 March) tweet, writing: “Female abduction / murder is extremely rare. Yes we should all be vigilant when out alone. But this level of fear-mongering isn’t healthy.”

She continued: “Men’s mental health is an issue as well. Calling all men out as dangerous is bad for our sons, brothers, partners.”

Read more: ‘Epidemic’ of violence against women in UK not taken seriously enough after Sarah Everard’s disappearance, MPs warn

McCall faced an immediate backlash for the tweet, with many women sharing statistics proving her statement incorrect, and arguing that the TV personality seemed to have missed the point.

“Female murder isn’t rare,” wrote Empire editor Terri White. “Rape isn’t rare. Domestic violence isn’t rare. We have an epidemic of violence against women (by men) in this country and this is so unhelpful and hurtful to every women who’s been abused, assaulted, harassed, beaten, raped or yes, killed.”

“This is a bad take Davina,” read another tweet at McCall. “My life has been seriously affected by rape, abuse, groping, and harassment all at the hands of men. I have PTSD as a result. Yes, there are good men. But on the street alone, day or night, how do we tell them from the bad ones?”

“This is a wider conversation around how *extremely common* it is for women to be made to feel uncomfortable by men,” another person wrote. “None of us have ever said it’s all men, just that there needs to be greater awareness amongst men of how their behaviour does or could impact women.”

In response to the above tweet, McCall wrote: “But you kind of are saying it’s all men in your statement.”

Davina McCall’s tweet, which has sparked a backlash (Twitter)

A 2017 England and Wales crime survey estimated that 20 per cent of women and four percent of men have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16.

A 2013 overview of sexual offending in England and Wales, compiled by organisations including the Home Office, found that approximately 85,000 women and 12,000 men experience rape, attempted rape or sexual assault every year. Only 15 per cent of those who experience sexual violence report it to the police.

Figures have also shown that 188 women were killed in England and Wales between April 2019 and March 2020. Eighty-two percent of victims were killed by people who knew them – more than half were their partner or ex-partner.

33-year-old Sarah Everard went missing on 3 March. A Metropolitan police officer has been arrested on suspicion of murder. (PA)

A March YouGov questionnaire, conducted by UN Women UK, found that 97 per cent of women polled, who were aged between 18 and 24, had experienced some form of sexual harassment.

Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, went missing on 3 March while walking home in South London, and a serving Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Human remains have been found in a woodland in Kent, though they have yet to be formally identified.