The brutal murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa have shocked us all. Women in particular are now feeling unsafe to go out in their own city. 

Several months after Wayne Couzens was arrested and only after his sentence, the best response the Metropolitan Police have come up with to reassure women is that they should 'shout out to a passer-by, run into a house, knock on a door, wave a bus down' if they doubt a police officer's intentions.

This is a completely unacceptable and tone deaf response to these events, and it is shocking that an organisation like the Metropolitan Police are putting the onus on women to 'verify' a police officer's identity instead of taking the responsibility to put more safeguards in place. The Metropolitan Police's response fails to recognise Wayne Couzens' gross abuse of power, and the inherent power imbalance of being approached by a police officer.

It is also tone deaf to respond by saying an extra 650 officers will be deployed. We don't want extra officers, we want to know that there are checks and safeguards in place so that we can ensure our safety if approached by an officer. Spending more resources on more police officers in an institution which turns a blind eye to misogyny and racism is not the answer. The Met Police needs to seriously reflect on the culture it is perpetuating.

Putting the Met Police's culture aside, we as women are now dealing with the immediate reality of these events, and that is that we feel heightened fear just to be out at night and terrified of being approached by a police officer who might abuse their powers. Women of colour may be feeling even more frightened in the context of police brutality and racial profiling. 

This is why the Met Police must urgently review its response and implement safeguards to protect women if approached by an officer.

Scotland's police have managed to come up with a system. Why is so hard for the Metropolitan Police?

A message to the Metropolitan Police: Put womens' safety first and end this culture of misogyny. Implement safeguards as a matter of urgency, because it is your responsibility as a police force to do so.