Sarah Everard case: Green Party peer suggests 6pm curfew for men to make women safer

Baroness Jones receives ‘deluge of misogynistic emails and tweets’ following comments in House of Lords

A Green Party peer has suggested a 6pm curfew for men following the disappearance and suspected murder of Sarah Everard.

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb argued the move would “make women a lot safer” and reduce “discrimination of all kinds”.

Speaking in the House of Lords during a debate on the Domestic Abuse Bill, she said: “In the week that Sarah Everard was abducted, and we suppose killed because remains have been found in a woodland in Kent, I would argue that at the next opportunity for any bill that’s appropriate I might actually put in an amendment to create a curfew for men on the streets after 6pm, which I feel would make women a lot safer and discrimination of all kinds would be lessened.”

Ms Everard disappeared while walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, last week. Searches for the 33-year-old discovered “human remains” in woodland near Ashford, Kent, on Wednesday.

A serving Metropolitan Police officer in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of Ms Everard’s murder and kidnap on Tuesday night, and Scotland Yard now faces an investigation into its handling of an earlier allegation of indecent exposure against the suspect.

The case has prompted an outpouring of anger and grief over violence against women, and has led many to share stories on social media of being harassed or attacked on the streets.

Baroness Jones said she had received a “deluge” of misogynistic messages following her remarks on the case in the House of Lords.

She tweeted: “Since my comments about a curfew for men to keep women safe, I've had a deluge of misogynistic emails and tweets. Which rather proves my point about the problem being with men…”

Her comments also attracted criticism on social media.

Susan Hall, the Conservative leader in the London Assembly, posted on Twitter: “OMG the world is going mad. The greens are thinking about a curfew for men after 6pm at night - I've heard it all now.”

But Baroness Jones said she was “really happy” her comments have ignited a debate.

“Nobody makes a fuss when the police suggest women stay at home, but when I suggest it, men are up in arms … men don’t understand the pressure women are under,” she told Sky News on Friday morning.

“If this has sparked intense scrutiny, I’m really happy.”

The life peer also said she had received several messages from women who said they would feel “free and safe” with a curfew.

She said, however, that the comment was “not an entirely serious suggestion” and reiterated that a ban on men leaving their house was not Green Party policy.