Liverpool Launches Radical New Strategy to Tackle Violence Against Women and Girls

Strategic Insights -

Liverpool's first female Mayor, Joanne Anderson, has unveiled a three-year strategy to combat violence against women and girls, emphasizing the need for better service provision, awareness, and action in schools. The initiative follows comprehensive consultation with various sectors and social groups, including young girls and organizations supporting survivors. The strategy outlines five priority ambitions to address the issue, including response to victim survivors, perpetrators, sustainable funding, changing the narrative, and governance and accountability.

Key Takeaways:

  • The strategy aims to tackle violence against women and girls, with an estimated 30% of women and girls experiencing violence in their lifetime in Liverpool.
  • Between October 2021 and September 2022, Merseyside Police received 14,935 domestic abuse incidents, averaging 1,245 per month.
  • The strategy outlines five priority ambitions:

+ Response to victim survivors: ensuring sufficient provision, awareness, and action in schools, and improved confidence in services offered.

+ Response to perpetrators: sufficient community-based perpetrator programs and robust evaluation to measure their impact.

+ Sustainable funding: ensuring demand is better met, with flexibility for voluntary and community sector organizations.

+ Changing the narrative: promoting awareness of victim shaming, misogyny, and inappropriate behavior.

+ Governance and accountability: clarity of decision-making, reporting, and oversight of violence against women and girls.

  • Liverpool City Council, with Merseyside Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell, secured £846k from the Home Office for the Safer Streets Liverpool project.
  • The project includes increased police presence around transport hubs, more CCTV, help points, and a text message system to report concerns.
  • A five-year funding package was announced to support survivors of sexual violence by Merseyside's Police Commissioner.

Statistics:

  • 250,000 women in Liverpool
  • 30% of women and girls (estimated) experience violence in their lifetime
  • Between October 2021 and September 2022, Merseyside Police received:

+ 14,935 domestic abuse incidents

+ 12,287 recorded crimes

+ An average of 1,245 domestic abuse incidents per month

+ An average of 1,024 recorded crimes per month

Sources:

  • Liverpool City Council's news release
  • Merseyside Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell's announcement
  • Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson's statement
  • Chief Executive of Liverpool Domestic Abuse Service Paula Nolan's comments