Overview

• At Sunday’s vigil in Ilford, Zara Aleena’s family retraced her final steps to spotlight persistent dangers facing women on UK streets.
• Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones and Health Secretary Wes Streeting used the event to reaffirm the government’s goal of halving violence against women within a decade.
• Vigil organisers acknowledge recent reforms in probation oversight, emergency call handling and risk-assessment tools but warn these measures need systemic investment to be effective.
• Campaigners say chronic underfunding of probation, social housing, mental health and specialist support services, coupled with entrenched misogyny, threatens meaningful progress.
• Bereaved relatives of Sabina Nessa and Jan Mustafa joined calls for coordinated institutional action and a cultural shift to prevent future deaths.