Proposals for a new scheme to tackle violence against women and girls have been published by The Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
The ‘Gender Based Abuse Strategy: The Greater Manchester Strategy to Tackle Violence Against Women & Girls’ has been launched in response of the tragic death of Sarah Everard earlier this month.
The 10-year strategy is looking to improve the safety of victims of gender-based abuse, including homicides, domestic abuse, rapes and sexual assaults and street and workplace harassment.
The proposals are taking a gender informed approach, focusing on how men and boys treat women in all areas of society and how services across the region can improve and educate against abuse.
Mayor Andy Burnham said: “We’ve been doing some serious long-term thinking about gender-based abuse in Greater Manchester for a while.
“It’s taken the tragic death of a young woman to begin a national conversation about how we can collectively tackle the abuse of women and girls – abuse that has gone on for far too long, attitudes and behaviours that go unchallenged.
“I want the streets, workplaces, schools, universities and homes of this city-region to be safe for every woman and girl.”
The strategy comes after a weekend of protests around the UK, including Manchester, against the new Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill, which will allow police to put more conditions on protests such as imposing a start and finish time and setting noise limits.
GMCA are planning to establish a new Gender Based Abuse Board, which will oversee the implementation of the plans over the next ten years.
The Board will include victims and survivors as co-chairs and work closely with the Greater Manchester Women and Girls Equality Panel and its Violence Against Women and Girls Working Group.
It will also work with the Race Equality Panel.
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Baroness Bev Hughes, said: “Tackling gender-based abuse is an area I’ve worked on for many years. I hear the harrowing stories every day and the toll it takes on women physically and mentally.
“It’s pervasive in our everyday life, from walking down a street and being called names because of how you are dressed, or being followed, or being threatened or being attacked.
“Enough is enough.”
One in four women in the UK will experience some form of sexual assault or domestic abuse in their lifetime and in Greater Manchester, 36% of all violent crime reported to the police is related to domestic abuse.
By the end of 2021, plans will be revealed to address the needs of male victims and survivors of violence, abuse and exploitation as part of the focus on gender-based abuse.
The public are being asked to provide their feedback on the proposals before a consultation in May 2021.
You can see more here: Greater Manchester proposals
