Investigation into rape in Asda car park in Basildon: Councillors shocked

A rape investigation has been launched after a woman was attacked in the Asda car park at Eastgate Shopping Centre at 4am on Sunday morning – a 34-year-old man is in custody.

The shocking incident came just days after Basildon Council launched its Women’s Safety Charter, which aims to raise awareness of crimes against women and help ensure women and girls feel safe in the community.

Gavin Callaghan, leader of Basildon Borough Council, said: “I am shocked to hear of this and my thoughts are with the victim.

“There is no place for such crimes in our city. This reinforces my belief that the downtown security plan we are working on is more necessary than ever.”

The city council expressed concern that Sunday’s incident could have far-reaching implications for the community, particularly women and girls.

He said: “This will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the safety of women and girls in the city and I want to assure them that we are doing everything in our power to make our city safer quickly.”

One attempt to make Basildon a safer place for women and girls has been the creation of a Women’s Safety Charter. This has been commissioned by the council and is due to be announced in the next few days.

Council members and entrepreneurs at the launch of the partnership with the Women’s Safety Charter (Image: Jessica Power)

The idea comes from Karen Whybro, a women’s safety advocate who works with councils and local authorities to create frameworks for the protection of women and girls.

Karen, who played a central role in developing the Women’s Safety Charter in Basildon, said: ‘It’s about raising awareness of the prevalence of sexual violence.

“Essex Police have described this as a rare event, but we know that sexual violence is widespread across all our communities.”

Having first developed the concept of a Women’s Safety Charter in Chelmsford, Karen now supports communities across the country in implementing similar programs.

“We train people to call out misogyny and sexism when they encounter it and to identify abusive behavior and harassment so women can feel safer in their communities,” she said.

“This report will be really concerning to many women and I think we need to be careful not to view it as an isolated case.”