The Audacity to Leave

The detail that haunts me isn't just the gun. It is the words he yelled after he fired it.

"Fucking bitch."

It is the universal language of a man who has lost control. We have all heard a version of it. It is the slur thrown at us when we say no. When we don't smile. When we take up space. When we refuse to de-escalate.

Renee Good was driving away. She was removing herself from the situation. She was exercising her autonomy.

And that is what he couldn't stand.

He didn't kill her because she was a threat. He killed her because she had the audacity to stop submitting.

It is a pattern written in blood across borders and headlines we are too exhausted to read.

Sarah Everard was just walking home.

Ashling Murphy was just going for a run.

Sonya Massey was just moving a pot of water in her own kitchen.

Harshita Brella was just trying to leave a man she had already reported.

Renee Good was just driving away.

The common thread isn't what they did. The common thread is that they existed in the presence of men who believed their authority—whether given by a badge, a relationship, or simply by gender—mattered more than a woman's life.

We teach our daughters to be careful. To be polite. To not provoke. To check the backseat. But the truth we are too scared to say out loud is that for some men, our simple existence as free, autonomous human beings is provocation enough.

The slur used against Renee in her final moments wasn't accidental. It was a confession. It revealed exactly what he thought of her life compared to his ego.

We deserve a world where our safety isn't conditional on our subservience.

We deserve to grow old.

Rest in Power Renee, Ashling, Sarah, Harshita, Sonya, and to all the women who should still be here.

We are listening.

With love and rage,

Salwa

P.S. A gentle but firm note: I will be deleting comments and blocking anyone attempting to justify this violence or victim-blame. This is a space for honouring these women and solidarity, not for debating a woman's right to safety.