"Everyone needs to do a bit more."
Sikh communities across the West Midlands have launched a large-scale safety campaign after two racially aggravated rapes left many fearing for their security.
Thousands of rape alarms are being distributed through Gurdwaras as part of a grassroots initiative encouraging collective responsibility and greater vigilance.
At the Guru Nanak Parkash temple in Coventry, campaigner Deepa Singh from Sikh Youth told the BBC that small lifestyle changes could help families feel safer.
Mr Singh said: “Everyone needs to do a bit more.
“There needs to be more communication, less people focusing on their phones and music while walking around.
“Just a few things people can change and implement in their families as it’s getting dark earlier.”
The move comes after two Sikh women were raped. Police are investigating them as racially motivated attacks.
In September, a British-born Sikh woman in her 20s was raped and beaten in Oldbury in what the Sikh Federation (UK) described as a racially and sexually motivated attack.
The assault took place between 8:00 and 8:30 am, when the victim was reportedly targeted by attackers who shouted: “You don’t belong in this country, get out.”
Police arrested a 49-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman on suspicion of two counts of rape. Both have since been bailed.
Weeks later, another woman in her 20s was raped in Walsall. The Sikh Federation (UK) said the Punjabi victim was attacked at a property in the Park Hall area around 7:15 pm on October 25.
West Midlands Police confirmed the woman was assaulted by a man she did not know.
Dabinderjit Singh OBE, Lead Executive for the Sikh Federation (UK), said:
“We can now confirm from local sources the young woman that was subject to a racially aggravated rape in Walsall is a Punjabi woman.
“This follows the racially aggravated rape of a young Sikh woman on 9 September in Oldbury.
“The attacker apparently broke down the door of the house where she was living.”
“He was heard using the offensive P and B words during the rape.”
Following the investigation, police charged 32-year-old John Ashby, a white British man from Stockland Green, with multiple offences including rape, sexual assault, strangulation, racially aggravated actual bodily harm and robbery.
The attacks have prompted widespread concern among Sikh communities in the region, with local leaders calling for stronger measures to protect women and combat hate-based violence.
The mass distribution of rape alarms is just the beginning of a broader effort to rebuild trust and ensure that women feel safe in public spaces.
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