West Mercia Police‘s month long campaign addressing male violence against women and girls has come to an end, but the message goes on.
The joint project with all of the colleges and universities in Herefordshire was launched earlier this month and West Mercia Police have supported students with a month-long campaign aimed at tackling violence and the fear of violence against women and girls in the county.
Through the Safer Streets project, West Mercia Police produced merchandise that was handed out to students at colleges and universities, as well as community groups – and the message was shared widely by media outlets such as Your Herefordshire.
Inspector Julz Watson says: “The safer streets project aims to reduce Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) and raise awareness about unacceptable behaviour towards women and girls.
“Males are overwhelmingly the perpetrators of sexual harassment in public places and it is believed that at times they are unaware that their behaviour is unacceptable and has made a woman or girl uncomfortable.
“This student focused campaign aims to start a conversation that challenges ideas around the acceptability of sexual harassment in public places.
“We encourage family, friends and peers to step up, speak up and challenge an unacceptable behaviour.”
One of the colleges visited during the campaign was The Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford.
Students received merchandise and advice from officers.
Jess Price, Director of Student Support Services at The Royal National College for the Blind said:
“The Royal National College for the Blind is proud to be supporting the campaign to end violence against women and girls. Abuse should never be tolerated or accepted and fundamentally, is a crime against Human Rights. The progression we are making together locally is important in ensuring injustice in this area will finally be challenged appropriately.”
Visit the support page on the ‘Time for Change’ website to find out what to do if you find yourself or a friend in danger – https://timeforchange.info/contacts/
National Helplines
- Rape Crisis National Helpline: 0808 802 9999
- The Survivors Trust Helpline: 08088 010818
- National Domestic Abuse Helpline – 0808 2000 247
- The Men’s Advice Line, for male domestic abuse survivors – 0808 801 0327
- National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline (Galop) – 0800 999 5428
