It has been exactly one year since the disappearance and horrific killing of Sarah Everard by former Met officer Wayne Couzens.

And 12 months on, women across Kent still feel unsafe on the streets and in their own homes.

Her horrendous murder placed Kent at the centre of a crime that caused shock waves across the country and sparked a national debate on women’s safety on our streets.

On the anniversary of the day she went missing, Sarah's parents said: "It is a year since Sarah died and we remember her today, as every day, with all our love.

"Our lives have changed forever and we live with the sadness of our loss. Sarah was wonderful and we miss her all the time.

"Over the past year we have been overwhelmed with the kindness shown to us, not just by family and friends, but by the wider public. We are immensely grateful to everyone for their support, it has meant such a lot to us and has comforted us through this terrible time.

"Sadly, Sarah is not the only woman to have lost her life recently in violent circumstances and we would like to extend our deepest sympathy to other families who are also grieving."

On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, the 33-year-old was stopped by Couzens as she was walking home from visiting a friend in Clapham, South London.

He showed her his police warrant card, put her in handcuffs and she was placed in the back of his car as part of a false arrest.

It was then that she was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Couzens.

On March 9, the Met Police arrested him at his home in Deal in connection with Sarah's disappearance.

Her body was found in woodland the following evening near Great Chart, Ashford.

After a second post mortem in June it was confirmed that she died as a result of compression to the neck.

On June 8, Couzens admitted to the kidnap and rape of Sarah and later to her murder and received a whole life sentence at the Old Bailey on September 30, last year.

As women across the world struggled to comprehend the headlines – an innocent woman killed by someone in a trusted position – a very real fear was ignited and questions were raised around the safety of women on the streets.

It was a watershed moment for change and women gathered to protest across the country in a Reclaim These Streets campaign.

The sheer scale of the outrage meant politicians found themselves forced to respond.

Notably, the Prime Minister promised that tackling violence against women was his "number one" priority in policing.

However, last year he was insistent that he did not support calls to make misogyny a hate crime and said: “I think rather than expanding the range of crimes that we want to prosecute, we need to prosecute the existing crimes.”

This week MPs did in fact vote against making misogyny a hate crime despite a YouGov poll revealing that seven in 10 Britons (72%) support longer sentences for crimes motivated by hostility or prejudice based on sex and gender.

Further funding was approved and is being targeted at supporting police forces in supporting women - Kent Police received more than £700,000 to spend on personal safety equipment, drink testing kits and personal alarms, as well as providing safe havens and installing more CCTV and improved street lighting in Ashford, Chatham and Rochester.

However, in the past 12 months, despite efforts from the government to help women feel safer, a further two high-profile murder cases in Kent have made national headlines.

A 53-year-old mother of two, PCSO Julia James, was murdered in Snowdown in April last year, just weeks after Sarah's disappearance.

In September, Tunbridge Wells then became the focus of an investigation into the murder of Sabina Nessa, a 28-year-old primary school teacher killed as she walked through a park in Kidbrooke, when officers combed fields and woodland in Kent for more evidence.

Jeanette Forder, a women's wellness coach from Rochester believes that women are no safer, and perhaps even more at risk than this time last year.

Both her and the women she speaks to are subject to misogyny and harassment on almost a daily basis. She says she no longer goes for walks after dusk on her own and stopped running with a running club after a series of intimidating events left her terrified to head out on her usual route.

Ms Forder said: "I just don't feel it's safe anymore."

Jeanette believes that women are less safe now than they were this time last year

She continued: "I'm always acutely aware of the fact that there are woodlands around me and anybody could be hiding there.

"As a runner I've had people hooting, shouting and passing comments - one evening we even had eggs thrown at us."

Jeanette also highlighted how an increase in online harassment is contributing to women feeling more unsafe behind closed doors.

She said: "It's worse than on the streets because your home is your personal space.

"They like the control and for some reason they (trolls) get some kick out of doing this stuff."

She has also received intimate photos from unknown men to her personal social media accounts and work email address.

She added: "That to me is indecent exposure the same as someone who's flashing on the street – it is done not to impress you but to make you feel uncomfortable."

Women across the county have also been speaking out on their fears with drink-spiking incidents on the rise since the reopening of clubs in July.

In November, 19-year-old Olivia Calvert from Rainham was spiked and male bouncers left her outside alone and vulnerable after presuming she was just drunk.

Her mum Hannah said: "I think more awareness needs to be raised with the victims but what would be good is clubs and police speaking out about how they will help support victims and come down on those who commit the crimes."

The government campaign encourages people to stand up and tackle violence against women and girls

Although the most recent move from the government shows there is an awareness and will to change the narrative.

Home Secretary Priti Patel launched a new campaign this week which says ‘Enough’ to violence against women and girls – it was informed by the unprecedented 180,000 responses to the Call for Evidence last year.

This multi-year campaign looks to educate young people about healthy relationships and consent, and ensure victims can recognise abuse and seek support.

It will also represent wider societal issues such as street harassment, coercive control, unwanted touching, workplace harassment, revenge-porn and cyber-flashing.