Campaign tackling violence against women and girls

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire is supporting the Home Office’s ‘Enough’ campaign designed to tackle violence against women and girls.

The Commissioner is keen to share information with Cheshire’s communities about work that is being undertaken to make people feel safer. 

The ‘Enough’ campaign delivers on the Government’s key commitment of the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, the first phase of the campaign focuses on perpetrators and tackling abuse. 

John Dwyer, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, said: “Everyone deserves to feel safe, but in society women and girls especially are subject to violence and intimidation. Here in Cheshire, our Safer Streets projects have been helping to raise awareness of unacceptable behaviour and tackle issues on a local level to ensure our communities feel safer. 

“We’ve also got specialist technology that we’re implementing in our Force Control Centre to enable video calls to between our call handlers and people who feel at risk of immediate violence and intimidation. We received £300,000 in funding for this from the Safety of Women at Night Fund. 

“In my Police and Crime Plan, protecting vulnerable and at-risk people is a key priority for me. This includes tackling violence and intimidation against women and girls and providing the support needed to help those who have survived recover from their experience. This support includes the highest number of Sexual Violence Liaison Officers situated around the University of Chester campuses, delivered through our Safer Streets campaign.” 

The Home Secretary, National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing have confirmed that they have accepted and will implement all of the recommendations made by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in their violence against women and girls inspection. The inspection, recommended:    

• Appointing a full-time VAWG National Policing Lead to co-ordinate and improve the national policing response – which the Home Office supported, and DCC Maggie Blyth is now in post    
• Adding VAWG to the Strategic Policing Requirement placing it on the same strategic footing as terrorism, serious organised crime and child sexual abuse    
• New guidance to police forces on how to treat victims and to establish a single national survey on victim satisfaction    
• Ensuring that progress is closely monitored, including violence against women and girls as a priority for the ministerially chaired crime and policing performance board  
• Taking action to make sure different agencies, including the police, health and education, are working together effectively to tackle violence against women and girls, including considering whether any new duties should be introduced. The Government recently made it clear in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that local areas can consider domestic abuse and sexual offences for the purposes of the new serious violence duty.      

Priti Patel, Home Secretary, said: “For too long, the responsibility of keeping safe has been placed on the shoulders of women and girls. This campaign says enough, and recognises it is on all of us to demand major societal change. Everyone has a stake in this.  

“Our new campaign shows that everyone can play a role in challenging abuse and making our country a safer place. By accepting all of the recommendations in the HMICFRS report I commissioned last year, the Government and the police are doubling down to support victims and survivors and punish perpetrators.”   

John Dwyer added: “The work we’re doing here in Cheshire complements that of the national campaign as we’re working to change perpetrator behaviour and make people accountable for their actions.” 

For more information about the Safer Streets projects being carried out in Cheshire see below: 

• Chester (sexualviolencesupport.co.uk/reflect-and-respect/)  
• Warrington (sexualviolencesupport.co.uk/safer-streets-warrington/)  

More information about the Government’s ‘Enough’ campaign is available here:

www.gov.uk/enough