Hundreds attend sexual harassment vigil on Exeter Cathedral Green

‘We are not free until all of us are free’

| UPDATED

Hundreds gathered outside Exeter Cathedral on Saturday evening in a vigil organised by Exeter Against Sexual Abuse.

This comes after similar vigils and protests around the country following the death of Sarah Everard two weeks ago, in memory of her and raising awareness for women’s rights.

In Exeter, students sat socially-distanced on the Cathedral Green as speakers shared stories of sexual abuse.

One of the first speakers stated: “It happens everywhere.”

Another said: “It’s not all men, it isn’t even most men, it is the same men over and over again. A society that refuses to believe them. Friends that excuse the inexcusable.

“Why should I change who I am just because a f*cking man can’t control himself? I was told that I had been the one to lead the perpetrator on. It silenced me for ten years.

“We are not free until all of us are free.”

At around 9pm the vigil started to peacefully disperse, with placards and flowers being left as tributes in different locations around the cathedral.

The vigil came a day after Exeter University and Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed three men had been arrested and then released on bail, in connection with two sexual assaults of Exeter students on campus on 7th March.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

On campus there’s been so many assaults’: We spoke to Exeter students Sit Down N Shut Up

• Exeter Uni ‘liaising with police’ following arrests after two sexual assaults on campus

It’s confirmed: EGB set to take place on July 17th