Working towards a safer society

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, the issue of violence against women and girls and how safe women and girl’s feel has never been more important.

The issue is key to making real the aspirations of International Women’s Day’s theme of equity.

Bury’s Community Safety Partnership is progressing with work to tackle the issues, and work with partners and communities in the last year includes:

• Healthy relationship curriculum sessions, co-designed with local pupils, in secondary schools and Colleges in the Borough
• Training to hair and beauty staff at Bury College to identify the signs of violence and support available through the Cut It Out campaign
• Self-defence sessions led by Greater Manchester Police to College students and the community
• Sharing of training with community groups through Security Advice for Everyone by the Community Security Trust
• Awareness raising of ways to report and receive support in relation to abuse, including programmes to tackle perpetrator behaviour
• Partnership training to front line staff on coercive control
• Specific partnership policing and community safety operations targeting violence against women and girls, including Operations Lioness and Forage
• Increasing awareness of Clare’s Law – the police’s ability to disclose a person’s history of abusive behaviour to those who may be at risk from such behaviour
• Engagement, awareness raising, training and local enforcement in relation to the Protection from Sex Based Harassment in Public Bill
• Working with Greater Manchester Police colleagues on pilot activity on Domestic Abuse Protection Notices (DAPN’s)
• Borough wide promotion of the national ‘Enough’ campaign calling for an end to all forms of abuse.

This week members of the partnership will also be going out to community groups and local women’s groups to continue to engage on this work including:

• Finalising the Women's Night Safety Charter which will be launched later this month to supporting licensed bars and clubs to prioritise women's safety - this includes the promotion of the Best Bar None scheme, launched in Bury Town Centre in 2022 and now broadening to the whole borough to increase safety in our night time economy
• Promotion of a video produced by local students to encourage licenced premises to sign up to Ask for Angela, with training and support to premises to support identifying responses to perpetrators of activity which causes distress, discomfort and is an offence
• A Women and Girls Safety tree will be in the Millgate on Wednesday 8 March from 10am-3pm, building on partnership activity from last November as part of the White Ribbon Campaign. Bury Council is making steps towards becoming White Ribbon accredited and are encouraging men to make their pledge to never carry out, condone and stand by any form of violence against women and girls
• Partnership commitment to a relentless focus on women and girl’s safety
• Youth engagement to inform a focus on women and girl’s safety at this year’s Circles of Influence session

In addition, work will continue to ensure local responses to regional and national policies and opportunities to increase women’s safety are embedded in the activity of the Council and partners including:

“Greater Manchester Police remains focused on keeping women and girls in Greater Manchester safe, and by working closely with partners across the public sector, with businesses and with voluntary and community groups, we continue to tackle issues surrounding domestic abuse and women’s safety,” said Chief Superintendent Chris Hill, Bury District Commander.

“Our force plan on a page to tackle violence against women and girls has a number of priorities - tackling and managing offenders; providing targeted support to victims; working with young people to influence behaviours; providing safe spaces within communities and working with businesses to provide a safe environment.”

Bury Council is also seeking White Ribbon Accreditation to end gender-based violence.

Councillor Richard Gold, the council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Finance added: “Women and girls should feel safe anywhere.

“We will do everything to provide an environment for women and girls that is equal, inclusive and safe.

“The White Ribbon campaign encourages everyone, especially men and boys, to make the White Ribbon Promise to never use, excuse or remain silent about men’s violence against women. Becoming White Ribbon Accredited is an opportunity to further demonstrate our commitment to eradicate such violence as part of our LET’S Do It vision.”