How Safe do Women & girls feel when walking home after a night out or walking alone anywhere?

In a 2021 ONS (Office for National Statistics) survey, 

•    People felt less safe when walking alone after dark than during the day in a quiet street close to home; a busy public space; and a park or open space.

•    One in two women and one in seven men felt unsafe walking alone after dark in a quiet street near their home.

•    One in two women and one in five men felt unsafe walking alone after dark in a busy public place.

•    Four out of five women and two out of five men felt unsafe walking alone after dark in a park or other open space.

•    Disabled people felt less safe walking alone in all settings than non-disabled people.

The data came two months after the release of the government’s new Tackling Violence against Women and Girls Strategy; launched in light of the increased public attention, anger and distress about violence against women and girls following the murders of Sarah Everard, Bibaa Henry, Nicole Smallman and many others.

The data confirms what women’s organisations have long known and sounded the alarm about: that being followed, harassed and assaulted are almost universally shared experiences of being a woman and girl, and that the threat of men’s violence leads to additional “safety work” and a restricted sense of freedom.

Here in Cannock Chase district, we launched a campaign to educate people around the help that is on offer to both make them feel safe when out and about and to also encourage them to report when and where they don't feel safe.

Pubs & Clubs across the district signed up to the campaign via Pubwatch and promoted the Hollie Guard app and Ask for Angela within their premises. Local taxi firms also became involved and you may still see some taxi's with Hollie Guard and Ask for Angela stickers on them.

The Community Safety Team work in partnership with Staffordshire Police, who ensure that perpetrators of any offences are dealt with proactively and robustly, with all victims safeguarded and supported at every step

More resources you may find useful:

Loudmouth

A campaign which addressed harmful sexual behaviours such as harassment and assault was launched in secondary schools across the District last year as part of Cannock Chase Council’s ongoing safeguarding work.

Street Safe

StreetSafe is a pilot service for anyone to anonymously tell us about public places where you have felt or feel unsafe, because of environmental issues, eg street lighting, abandoned buildings or vandalism and/or because of some behaviours, eg being followed or verbally abused.

Please note: 'StreetSafe' is not for reporting crime or incidents.

Everyone's Invited

Everyone’s Invited is a safe place for survivors of Sexual Assault in the home/school/workplace/public to share their stories completely anonymously. The act of sharing their story with Everyone’s Invited allows many survivors a sense of relief, catharsis, empowerment, and gives them a feeling of community and hope.