A new approach to reducing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is backed by Harlow Council as it looks to pursue more opportunities to strengthen crime prevention in the town.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has released a statement calling for a whole-system approach that brings together criminal justice partners, government bodies and industry, in a new partnership that seeks to reduce the scale and impact of VAWG. In the NPCC report it states:
“To respond effectively to those wider offences, often referred to as public spaces VAWG offences, policing needs to work in partnership. A coherent and robust whole-system approach is needed to prevent VAWG from happening in the first place. Reinvigorating partnerships at a national, regional and local level between statutory agencies, charities and the private sector will help to prevent initial harm, its escalation and impact, both behind closed doors and in public spaces.”
The NPCC is also calling on councils and police forces to work together to address all safeguarding concerns and ensure that public spaces are safe for women and girls.
In Essex, 2023 data recorded over 37,000 VAWG related crimes. VAWG is one of the priorities for the Safer Harlow Partnership, which is led by Harlow Council. Later this year, a new women’s safety campaign is due to be launched as part of tackling the issue. The campaign focuses on organisations, businesses and residents all working together to help women feel safe in the local community. A survey commissioned as part of developing the campaign found that 78% of women who responded felt unsafe at night in Harlow.
The council continues to also support the J9 initiative, which helps raise understanding of domestic abuse issues and awareness of support that is available for those affected by such violence. Buildings that display the J9 logo offer a ‘safe place’ for those seeking help where trained staff can, in confidence, provide advice and signposting to support services.
Councillor Joel Charles, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Public Protection, said:
“The publication of the National Policing Statement for Violence Against Women and Girls rightly draws an important focus on the scale of offending and the need to take further action.
“I welcome the commitment to a whole-system approach. The Safer Harlow Partnership, which works to reduce crime in the town and includes the council, Essex Police and Safer Places, considers violence against women and girls a local priority. It is also important to recognise Changing Pathways, a charity that works with the Safer Harlow Partnership and is commissioned by Essex County Council to deliver domestic abuse support.
“The policing statement helps to make the case to our Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for more support to deliver local prevention initiatives that are proven to work as he prepares to formalise what his key priorities should be over the next four years.
“One element of this work is the need to break the cycle of domestic abuse and crimes linked to it. The Essex Stalking Intervention Panel is currently working on a perpetrator intervention – more needs to be done to steer offenders away from causing harm. I think this type of intervention should be piloted in Harlow.
“Women and girls should always feel safe in public spaces. The council did install more cameras to monitor the town’s underpasses to address concerns about accessing them at night. A review of CCTV is underway to look at how to deliver a more demonstrable reduction in anti-social behaviour and crime.
“Those who carry out violence against women and girls have no place in our community. The women’s safety campaign, which will launch later this year, plans to raise awareness of the devastating impact of such violence and what help is out there to empower victims to feel more confident about coming forward.”
