Sexual harassment, assault, intimidation and misogynistic hate crimes occur all too often on our streets even now in the 21st century. When every parting sentence to a friend is, “text me when you get home”, or when we hear “nothing happened, but…”, there is a stark indication of normalised risk, particularly to women and girls.
The Sarah Everard case was particularly disturbing. The Home Secretary is absolutely driven to prevent this from ever happening again and has announced an inquiry into how, despite serious red flags, Wayne Couzens was able to remain in a position of authority and trust – a position he so sickeningly abused. I have written to the Home Secretary with my support for the independent review, and to ask that the lessons learnt are cascaded to all police forces.
I have spoken to constituents about their own experiences of threats to personal safety, of harrowing violations, frightening encounters, intimidating incidents, near-misses, close-calls and silent fears. In light of these conversations and a number of shocking recent cases of violence against women, I am launching a personal safety campaign in our constituency, seeking to identify areas where practical steps can be taken to improve safety.
These include:
- Improved street lighting
- More cameras and police patrols at identified danger spots
- Raising awareness and vigilance in the public
You can fill in my survey below.
It is my hope that, working alongside our local Councils and the police, we will be able to take real action to ensure that everyone feels safe in all parts of our local community.