Wayne Couzens bowed his head as he learned he would spend the rest of his lifeThere are only 60 other criminals serving a whole-life sentence in the UK.  in prison.

In March this year, a woman disappeared from the streets of London. Sarah Everard's experience, the prosecutor argued, could be summarised in five devastating words: "deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire". 

Yesterday, her family watched in torment as her killer, a serving police officer, was jailed for his "brutal" and "grotesqueA figure or face carved out of stone and fixed to the roof or walls of a building. They are similar to gargoyles, but gargoyles include a spout for water to drain through. " crime. 

"Sarah is gone and I am broken-hearted," her mother Susan told the court. "She spent her last hours on this earth with the very worst of humanity."

"He treated my daughter as if she was nothing. He took her life and stole her future." 

"No woman should have to fear harassment or violence," declared British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after the sentencing at the Old BaileyOtherwise known as the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, London's most famous court is referred to as the Old Bailey after the street it stands on. . "We will do everything possible to prevent these abhorrent crimes." 

Sarah Everard's death caused an outcry in the UK, but around the world male violence against women and girls is far from uncommon. Her name joins a grim list of murdered women: Jyoti SinghThe rape and murder of the 23-year-old on a bus in Delhi in 2012 sparked protests throughout India.  in India, Gabby Petito in the USA, Uyinene Mrwetyana in South Africa, Julia James and Sabina Nessa in England. 

The statistics are shocking. Almost one in three women worldwide, approximately 736 million people, are subjected to physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Every 10 minutes, an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence. 

The same month that Sarah Everard died, trapped by a policeman who told her she had broken lockdown guidelines, the World Health Organisation warned that Covid-19 has triggered a "shadow pandemic" of violence against women. Repeated lockdowns and the disruption of support services put thousands at risk. 

But violence against women and girls was a problem long before Covid-19. Many campaigners blame the growing crisis on gender inequality, a lack of education and social norms that dismiss women as inferior to men. 

Philosopher Amia SrinivasanSrinivisan is a philosopher at the University of Oxford. Her book, The Right to Sex, was published this year.  believes there is another issue that the world must tackle: men who believe they have the right to sex, and are enraged by the women who apparently deny them. 

Some are calling for so-called incelShort for involuntary celibate, the mostly online subculture defines itself as people who are unable to get a romantic or sexual partner despite wanting one. attacks to be classified as terrorism. Many believe dismantling patriarchalA society in which adult men have a monopoly on power. In these societies, men tend to hold all political positions, and women and children are also expected to obey the men in their families. ideas about sexual entitlement would solve the root cause of the violence.

Everyone agrees: societal norms must change. Yet thousands are calling for a more immediate and tangibleEasily perceptible or real. Tangible changes can be seen or experienced. remedy. They want changes to law. 

Some protections for women already exist. The UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ratified by 189 states, is often referred to as an international bill of rights for women.

But many women around the world feel that the treaties do not go far enough. CEDAW was first adopted in 1979. More than 40 years later, thousands of women are still murdered every year. 

The campaigners have six key demands for change. They are listed in the image above.

Can new laws stop this evil?

Of course, say some. The current laws are failing to protect women and girls. Drastic and fundamental change is needed. The activists' six demands would force every nation to take gender crimes more seriously and stamp out the root causes of violence against women.  

Changing the law is not the way forward, say others. The real problem is societal attitudes towards women and worldwide gender inequality, not international laws. These will only be solved by investing in education and changing learned behaviours. And unfortunately, there will always be rogue criminals who do not follow the rules.