Survey launched by police to find out how safe women and girls feel in Cumbria

A survey has been launched by police in Cumbria to explore how women and girls feel about their own personal safety.

The online survey is designed to find out how women and girls feel in their own homes, neighbourhoods and towns.

Cumbria Constabulary said it aims to use the information collected to better inform its policing services as part of ongoing work to address the national issue of violence against women and girls.

Detective Superintendent Sally Blaiklock said: “Violence against women and girls is unacceptable and Cumbria Constabulary and our partners always treat these issues seriously.

“In Cumbria Constabulary, we all wish to deliver an outstanding service and keep all people safe.

“In this respect, violence against women and girls is no different and we are always looking to see how we can get better and improve our services for the sake of our communities in Cumbria.

“Feeling unsafe is obviously not an experience exclusive to women and girls. But sexual violence and harassment offences are overwhelmingly committed by males against females.

“We believe we have made great progress in improving how we deal with these offences and issues.

“We have implemented a range of measures, operations and activities to make women and girls feel safer and to deter these crimes and tackle the perpetrators of these offences."

Cumbria Constabulary says that the work it has done so far has produced positive results.

Since April 2022, Cumbria has been ranked either first or second in the country for convictions at court in relation to VAWG offences, with an average of between 84% and nearly 87% ending in a guilty plea or verdict.

Detective Superintendent Sally Blaiklock added: “The conviction rates achieved by our work with the CPS putting cases before the courts also shows how seriously we take these offences and the work that goes into cases.

“Cumbria is one of the safest places to live. However, these crimes do happen here. They can happen behind closed doors or in public places, online or in the real world.

“We have carried out a lot of work to address the issue of violence against women and girls and we believe this survey will be our latest tool to help our drive to constantly improve.”

The survey, which is completely anonymous, is available online.

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