Supporting each other to stop violence against women and girls

Last Friday, I had the privilege of doing a Facebook Live with Chief Inspector Andy Wiseman, the Police Officer who oversees the police in Watford. Our local police do an excellent job and I have had the pleasure of meeting many of them, either on the street or at community events helping with crime prevention. However, I still believe that we will not make sufficient progress against crime unless we see more police officers on our street. 

Many of the questions submitted by residents were about personal safety, particularly for women and girls. I want to make sure that everyone in Watford feels safe in our town. That requires the council to have a focus on reducing violence against women and girls and a close partnership with the police. This work is supported by our network of 300 CCTV cameras across the town, which operate 24/7 and assist the police in responding to issues and protect the public.

In November last year, Watford Council received the White Ribbon accreditation for its commitment to end violence against women and girls and its intention to deliver a three-year action plan to tackle this issue. As part of the accreditation, I became a White Ribbon Ambassador alongside some of my male colleagues, and female colleagues including deputy Mayor Aga Dychton became White Ribbon Champions.

The White Ribbon initiative reminds us that preventing violence against women and girls is a responsibility for all people – no matter their gender. Unless we call out domestic violence when we see it or intervene when people show misogynistic attitudes, nothing will change.

The plan we are putting together in Watford will include how we work with businesses and the fantastic community groups we have here to tackle behaviours or attitudes that excuse or enable male violence against women and girls. An example of this work was an event last week where council staff and the police shared advice to local night-time businesses on how to support women who are on a night out in Watford. This included the HollieGuard safety app which allows people to send live alerts to your emergency contacts and the Ask for Angela initiative where bar staff can offer direct support to women who feel endangered on a night out.

This work can only be part of the solution. We need the government to invest in more police officers and to correctly fund the criminal justice system to ensure that victims of violence achieve justice.