Women and the LGBTQ+ community 'scared' to go out after dark in Bournemouth town
ITV News Meridian's Richard Slee hears the concerns of women who say the streets just don't feel safe
Women and people who are LGBTQ+ are 'scared' to go out after dark in a seaside town, according to several organisations who are calling for greater action from authorities to improve safety on the streets.
The groups have come together to write a message to police describing efforts made by Dorset Police and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council as 'piecemeal'.
The backlash comes after the fatal stabbing of Amie Gray on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth in which a 20-year old man has been charged with murdering the 34-year old fitness instructor.
Since that incident Dorset Police, the area's Police & Crime Commissioner, and BCP council released a statement reiterating its commitment to keep people safe.
However, those organisations demanding improvements say more effort is needed and have written an
Marianne Storey, Chair of Dorset Women CIC said, "Our Dorset Women’s Charter says that women should be able to expect to be safe wherever they are in Dorset, day or night, whatever they are doing.
"And, especially after this recent spate of crimes, women do not currently feel safe. We cannot expect ust the police or just the council to fix this problem alone.
"We need everyone working together, in a coordinated and consistent way to create a ‘new normal’ where violence against women is unacceptable and we see the numbers of these violent crimes coming down drastically."
Vicky Sheppard, one of the women behind the BCP Unity Promise Said “While it's important to explore ways to improve women's safety in public spaces, these measures often put the responsibility on women to safeguard themselves.
"Therefore, it's crucial to tackle the underlying causes of male violence against women by addressing and changing the negative attitudes and cultural norms that perpetuate abuse. It is vital that our services work together."
Jayne Jackson, activist and founder of FoxStrut, an organisation against gender based violence, said, "The huge positive response to the Foxstrut movement is a clear indicator that women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community want action on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
"We deserve to feel safe on our streets and a vital part of that is police and council prioritisation of gender-based violence. As our movement spreads across the UK, it attracts more attention to why it originated - the spotlight is on Dorset. We deserve better and we're spreading that message in neon orange!”
Donna Ann Pace, CEO and Founder of Community Interest Company One Voice My Choice said, "At One Voice My Choice CIC, it is our core mission to help provide a unique lifeline of hope for women and young girls in Dorset and across the UK who may be experiencing any forms of abuse.
"It is shocking that even in 2024, women and young girls are not only being victim-blamed, but may change their routines and/or routes for fear of becoming a victim of crime. This is a call to action to start putting the onus on the perpetrators with a view to there being an increase in conviction rates and holding the perpetrator accountable for their insidious behaviour."
Dorset is the seventh safest county in the country for crime but all agencies say they are aware that serious violent and sexual incidents can cause unease and fear.
The authorities say new CCTV is being installed across the town, more educational workshops are being delivered to students at university and there's been a renewed focus on ensuring licensed businesses are secure and given training on how to support women and girls against violence.
Each police car in Dorset has access to a knife wand while arches are deployed in key locations to detect weapons.
Educational workshops are also taking place and a pack to offer guidance to parents concerned about knife crime is being developed.
Superintendent Emma Sweetzer, of Dorset Police said, "Dorset Police takes all forms of violence against women and girls extremely seriously. We are continually working with our partners under our commitment to ensure women and girls are safe and feel safe in our communities and public spaces.
"When offences do occur, we are determined to do all we can to encourage victims to come forward in the knowledge that they are fully supported, and we will carry out a thorough investigation to ensure offenders are identified and dealt with robustly.
"This remains a priority for the Force and we have set a clear strategic focus on improving investigation standards and the service provided to victims.
"We are part of Operation Soteria Bluestone, which aims to improve the response of the police service to victims of rape and sexual offences and their experience of the criminal justice process.
"This has resulted in a greater number of cases going to court, a quicker time period from an initial report to resolution and better support for victim.
"We are committed to a range of initiatives to tackle violence against woman and girls and continue to have extremely good relationships with our partners where we share data, information and intelligence and work together to improve criminal justice outcomes and help protect woman and girls from harm.
"We also promote the new online tool Steetsafe, which has been introduced by the Government to enable people, particularly women and girls, to report locations where they feel or have felt unsafe and to identify why that location has made them feel unsafe.
"We would urge any women and girls who have been the victim of crime to please report it to us."
Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said, "I am aware of the concerns raised in a recent joint letter to the OPCC, Dorset Police and both Dorset and BCP Councils, regarding the issue of Violence Against Women and Girls.
"A number of suggestions have been made by the authors, and partners will be responding to them in detail in due course.
"As part of my role in scrutinising the work of Dorset Police, I have set-up a VAWG Scrutiny Panel which reviews the handling of public contact relating to VAWG cases such as rape, stalking and domestic abuse to ensure these reports are being handled appropriately.
"This is alongside RASSO scrutiny panels to ensure investigation standards and victim service is maintained. I have also commissioned vital victim services including Victim Support, The Shores – Dorset Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), and STARS Dorset to ensure high quality care for all victims of these distressing crimes.
"I will continue to work with any group that wants to make Dorset a safer place for women and girls. Their safety is, and will remain, a key priority for all partners across the county, and we will continue to deliver upon that."
A spokesperson for Dorset Council said, "Dorset council is committed to addressing violence against women and girls as an existing key priority through our Adult Safeguarding Board, the Pan-Dorset Children’s Safeguarding Partnership and our Community Safety Partnership.
"As a result, Dorset Council supports and delivers a wide range of initiatives to support adult offender and victims, which is underpinned by several key strategies including our Dorset Council Domestic Abuse Strategy. This sets out how the Council and its partners protects victims and addresses offenders of domestic abuse as well as the services we commission and initiatives that facilitates Dorset to be a safe place to live.
"We commission an Integrated Domestic Abuse Service which provides support to people experiencing or affected by domestic abuse including safe accommodation, recovery programmes and a helpline. Alongside this, for those who are receiving support from children and families’ services within Dorset Council a new initiative has been piloted in Dorchester, West and Chesil localities called Safeguarding Families Together. This enables adult practitioners to be co-located with social workers to address domestic abuse within the home. This work has been independently evaluated recently and evidenced successful impact which is allowing us to now roll out this offer to all families within the Dorset Council area.
"Dorset’s multi-agency High Harm Perpetrator Panel focuses on the most harmful and serial offenders of domestic abuse and stalking and those that have repeatedly displayed sexually harmful behaviours. The Panel works to minimise the risk of further abuse, address reoffending and robustly manage enforcement.
"Violence against women and girls can only be stopped by everyone working together so we welcome organisations and groups that can provide a better understanding of issues and solutions to them to contact and work with us."
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