‘WOMEN should feel safe to walk home at night without fear’.

Those are the striking words from the organiser of Reading’s Reclaim the Night, after the latest attack of a woman on Oxford Road, Reading.

Thames Valley Police launched a rape investigation this wek after a woman was attacked by a man who was a stranger on Oxford Road around 11.15pm on Thursday, April 30.

A man has since appeared in Reading Magistrates' Court charged with rape and is next set to appear at Reading Crown Court on June 2.

Following the latest investigation, Reclaim the Night Reading and former Reading councillor Sophia James said: “The Government and criminal justice system are failing women and girls.”

She said education needs to start early for children on this issue and consent is an important aspect of that education.

“Men have a responsibility to call out other men for inappropriate behaviour towards women and public bodies have a duty of care,” Sophia says.

Sophia added: “Any woman should feel safe to walk home at night without fear and that is the reason we started the local campaign.

“I have walked home at night and taken all the actions that women are 'advised' to do such as checking behind me, taking well-lit routes and carrying my keys in my hands but the reality is that I shouldn't have to and neither should any other self-defining woman because victims are never to blame."

Reclaim the Night are national women-only marches against sexual violence. The last one held in Reading was in December last year.

Sophia explained that the Labour party are advocating for an increase to sentences for rape and stalking.

The party are also working towards providing free legal support for survivors, which Sophia said “is a great start but we won't stop campaigning until every woman feels safe walking home alone at night.”

The latest incident to be investigated comes as TVP reveal that there was a record number of sexual offences recorded last year, according to new data.

Office for National Statistics figures show 6,418 sexual offences were recorded by Thames Valley Police in the year to December 2022 – a record high since equivalent records began in the year to September 2007.

It was up from 6,281 sexual offences recorded the 12 months prior and up from 5,814 offences in the year to March 2020, before the pandemic.

Sophia said: “Unfortunately, 1 in 4 women in the UK experience sexual violence and only about 1% of reported crimes result in charges."

Adding: “It is always incredibly upsetting to hear of another sexual assault and our thoughts are with the woman affected.”