Somerset County Council has pledged to make public spaces safer for women and girls by launching a new campaign as part of a ‘Safer Streets’ project.
The campaign by the County Council and North Somerset Council is called ‘It can stop if we change together’.
It’s been started to raise awareness and tackle sexual harassment and violence against women and girls.
The campaign intends to change perpetrator behaviour and start a conversation in society that challenges misogynistic attitudes and discourages inappropriate behaviour towards women and girls.
The campaign’s messaging will include typical ‘banter’-style conversations and demonstrate how it makes our streets less safe.
Adverts conveying the message and emphasising the effect that it has on women and girls will appear on the back of buses, on the radio, and on other digital platforms through social media.
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), sexual assault is most common against younger women.
ONS statistics show around one in 10 women aged 16 to 24 have been a victim in the past year.
In the year ending March 2020, the ONS estimated that 4.9 million women had been victims of sexual assault in their lives.
The number of victims reporting offences of this nature to Avon and Somerset Police has increased in the last 12 months in Somerset.
In Somerset, women aged 16-24 are most likely to be a victim, but the proportion of younger victims (under 16) has also increased.
Cllr Clare Paul, Somerset County Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for public health, says: “The campaign will undoubtedly spark a conversation across the region on acceptable and unacceptable behaviour that could put the safety of our women and girls at risk and make our streets unsafe.”
“We want perpetrators to think about their words and actions and the effect this has on others around them. Inappropriate words or actions against women and girls are not acceptable in any way.”
“We are committed through this campaign to help reduce Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and increase women and girls’ safety in public places.”
The campaign as been made possible by the two councils’ successful joint bid to the Home Office Safer Streets Fund for £324,449 to tackle sexual harassment and violence against women and girls.
To learn more about sexual harassment and violence against women and girls and how to change behaviour, visit www.saferstreetsawareness.co.uk
