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Today we launch our ‘Walk in My Shoes’ campaign to tackle problem areas where women and girls feel unsafe.
We want to hear from women and girls across the city and county about the areas they avoid and why and how they can be made safer. We are encouraging women and girls to fill out our simple online survey which will be used to make a real difference in your local area. It may be a particular street, alleyway or side street you avoid or a particular place which makes you feel uncomfortable during a night out in town. It may be a car park, a bus stop, or just a particular area where you have experienced unwanted attention or behaviour. We want to hear about your experiences and your concerns so we can look at ways to tackle the problem to make you feel safer.
The eight-week campaign – which will be heavily publicised across the city and county – wants to hear from as many women and girls as possible. We will then work with local partners including councils to look at ways these areas can be improved. This could include additional patrols, better lighting or CCTV coverage. We have designing out crime officers that have already visited places such as the walkway between Nottingham Railway Station and Nottingham Contemporary and made suggestions on how to make it feel safer and less attractive to criminals.
Women across the city and county have already told us they feel hyper-vigilant, intimidated and victimised in some public spaces and are in full support of our campaign. Local female running group, These Girls Run, is one group which is backing our campaign after changing their routes and even their appearance during some of their runs.
Phoebe Lake, leader of the Nottingham group said: “This campaign is important to us because we just want to raise awareness around women’s safety issues. “We’ve experienced catcalling from men on our runs, been followed and they’ve joined in our warm-ups and just generally been in our space. “When I’m running, I do try to, especially in the evenings, keep my hood up and look as least womanly as possible. I wear darker clothes just so it’s not visible that I am a girl and I am running on my own. “We have collaborated with Nottinghamshire Police to get safety advice for when we’re out running and in general.”
Caitlin Boughton, who is also a runner with These Girls Run, said: “Being a very keen runner and a woman is very hard. “I’ve received catcalling from men while out running and there’s also been worse incidents when I’ve been grabbed before on a run by a male, which was very distressing and put me off running for quite a while. “Women’s safety is such an important issue which needs to be discussed. I feel like a lot of men don’t understand how women feel when they’re running.”
Superintendent Heather Maelor, one of the leads for tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) at Nottinghamshire Police’s Prevention Hub said: “We receive calls from women and girls who are subjected to unwanted behaviour and abuse from men every day. “To put a stop to this in Nottinghamshire, we want to hear what women and girls from across our city and county have experienced as part of our Walk in My Shoes campaign. We want to know the areas they feel the most unsafe so, where possible, we can come up with solutions collectively with our partners to make real change. “VAWG is a national threat and we want to ensure that our residents and visitors feel as safe as possible when they are walking around Nottinghamshire. “So please, complete our survey, tell us your views, and we will act where we can, to ensure you feel safer.”
To take part in the survey click here You can also watch our full-length campaign video here: | ||||
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