By Sammie Jones
Organisations across London are being asked to pledge their support to help ensure the safety of women s at night by signing up to the Mayor’s Women’s Night Safety Charter.
Night Czar, Amy Lamé, and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden have called on councils, businesses, venues and other organisations to get behind the charter, at a night safety summit today at City Hall. The summit, called Reclaim the Night, will assemble representatives from policing, transport, charities and the night-time economy to reaffirm their commitment to improving safety at night.
The Mayor’s charter is the first of its kind across the capital a. It sets out guidance for venues, operators, charities, councils and businesses to improve safety at night for women. It embodies better training of staff, encouraging women to report harassment, and ensuring public spaces are safe. The charter is a seven-point pledge to help ensure women in London are safe at night, and sets out guidance for venues, charities, businesses and councils. It seeks to ensure that women who report harassment are believed, recorded and responded to.It also calls on designers and architects to design public and workplaces to make them safer for women at night
A plethora of groups have signed up to the charter and pledged to take action to reduce the risk of crime against women working or enjoying a night out. Live Nation UK, Ministry of Sound, UK Music, Drinkaware, the O2, Portman Group, Lambeth Council, the Met and TfL are among those who have agreed to be counted in supporting the Women’s Charter. The Eye Of Media.Com is also in the process of joining these groups, but still carefully analysing the requirements and blueprints of the campaign.
The Women’s Night Safety Charter is part of the Mayor’s strategy to address violence against women and girls. It includes seven key pledges to improve women’s safety and perception of safety at night.
The commitments – based on the pillars of reporting, responding, taking responsibility and redesigning public spaces Nominate a champion in your organisation who actively promotes women’s night safety. Members are expected to demonstrate to staff and customers that your organisation takes women’s safety at night seriously, for example through a communications campaign. They are also expected to tell staff what to do if they experience harassment when working, going out or travelling. Even bystanders are expected to report offences or harassment, and supporters of the Women’s Night Safety Charter must actively encourage victims and bystanders to make reports as part of their communications campaign.
Staff are also to be trained to ensure that all women who make reports are believed. This aspect is slightly questionable since it assumes that no false or frivolous complaints can be made.
It also asks for public spaces and work places to make them safer for women at night
Earlier this year, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, published his strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, with a record investment of £44m up to 2020. The wide-ranging strategy includes measures of prevention, tackling perpetrators, and protection and support for victims, all as part of Sadiq’s efforts to make London the safest city in the world for women and girls.
Night Czar, Amy Lamé said of the Women’s Night Safety Charter: “We’re determined to make London the safest and most welcoming city in the world. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring the safety of women at night and through the Mayor’s Women’s Night Safety Charter we’re helping to provide a supportive environment for those working, travelling or enjoying our capital at night. Through this, we can make a real difference to help women make the most of everything our capital has to offer.”
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden said: “London is one of the safest cities in the world but we know that more can be done to improve safety for women at night. We’re helping venues and councils to take some simple, but important, steps to help women know that nowhere is off limits to them.”
Cllr Lib Peck, Leader of Lambeth Council and co-chair of the VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) Board, said: “We take the safety of women at night incredibly seriously and think it’s vital that we do all we can to ensure a safe environment for women. We’re proud to be one of the first signatories of the Mayor’s Women’s Night Safety Charter and are committed to delivering these important pledges to make Lambeth even more welcoming at night.”