I’ve had a slightly-more-varied-than-usual weekend, although that’s a pretty low barrier to clear these days. I went for a walk in Stratford with a friend that I’d not seen in a while – I forget that Stratford, Hackney Wick and the Olympic Park are actually nice places for wandering around in the sun. The solid change of scenery felt good.

Everything else I could talk about pales in comparison to the news about the killing of Sarah Everard, so I don’t feel like I have a huge amount to say this week.

I’ve seen lots of people posting advice on what men can must do to help – a friend tweeted that “it’s all men until it’s none of us”. The main bit of advice that stood out to me was to be an active bystander: not turning a blind eye, and calling out harmful words or behaviour that I see from the people I’m around. It has to go beyond my own behaviour, and I’ve got lots to learn on how to show up as an ally. Some of the best advice I’ve seen so far has been from this Instagram post.

I think about what it would have been like as a not-out teenager to have someone speak up against classmates or friends using homophobic slurs – I don’t want to draw comparisons, but it’s a helpful way for me to frame it in my head.

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