The Campaign

Overview and background

The tragic killing of Sarah Everard on 3 March 2021 brought to the forefront concerns about women and girls’ safety in public places. To provide reassurance to women and girls and ensure the safety of public spaces, the Government announced on 15 March, an additional £25 million for the Safer Streets Fund. This is being used to run a third round of Safer Streets Funding, with a focus on ensuring the safety of public places for all, and a particular emphasis on improving the safety of public spaces for women and girls. This third pilot round of the fund seeks to expand the evidence base on the prevention of VAWG crimes, aiming to prevent these crimes before they can occur, whilst simultaneously increasing feelings and perceptions of public safety in problem areas.

Following the joint bid put forward by North Somerset and Somerset County Council, the funding was awarded to the neighbouring councils to help tackle violence against women and girls. The bid is an innovative and collaborative proposal by the two councils covering the whole Somerset policing area. It presents an opportunity to work together and achieve positive outcomes in tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) crimes across the area.

Safer streets for women and girls

We will look at violence against women and girls in public places broadly as crimes that disproportionately impact women and girls’ safety and feelings of safety in public spaces.

Across the country, UK girls are facing verbal and physical harassment every day, and this should stop. More than four-fifths of young women in the UK have been subjected to sexual harassment, according to a survey for UN women UK. Among women aged 18-24, 86% said they had been sexually harassed in public spaces, while just 3% did not recall ever having experienced sexually harassing behaviour. The remaining 11% chose not to answer the question.