16 Days of Action: Beds PCC commits to tackling gender-based violence

The prevalence of violence against women and girls had reached epidemic levels both in terms of its scale and the profound impact on victims.

Bedfordshire Police received 663 reports of domestic abuse in October, bringing the total of reports since the start of the year to more than 5,000.

While crimes such as rape and sexual offences, stalking and domestic abuse represent a significant portion of these offences, other behaviours such as cat-calling, inappropriate contact, misogyny, and explicit messaging make women and girls in Bedfordshire feel unsafe.

The PCC said “In the last year, the solved rate of crimes related to domestic abuse has increased by six per cent and I acknowledge the relentless efforts of Bedfordshire Police and partners, who are actively working to pursue perpetrators, enhancing support for victims and increase public confidence in reporting such crimes.

“However, more must be done.

“It is also essential to recognise that tackling these appalling offences requires much more than policing. There must be robust and ideally a single multi-agency safeguarding data hub to assist this approach.

“One of the most vital aspects of this approach is the education of young people, particularly boys and men.

“My office funds education and counselling services, and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA’s), Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVA’s) for women affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence.

“Men can be victims of violence too and there are funds to provide specialist services to provide support to male victims.

“However, we cannot overlook the fact that these are crimes predominantly committed by men against women. As a society we simply must stop making excuses for poor behaviours and attitudes towards women and girls. Misogyny has no place in 2024.”

Deputy PCC, Umme Ali has lead responsibility for this mission. John further commented: “Umme is working with our public sector partners, women’s groups, specialist voluntary and community organisations and people with lived experience to develop robust strategies.”

The Deputy PCC said “I fully support the government’s proposal to treat extreme misogyny and violence against women and children using the same focused approach to policing as it applied to all serious crime including terrorism.

“We all have a duty to call out such behaviours and encourage men to identifying harmful behaviour that are contributing to a fear of violence for women.

“I am pleased to back the White Ribbon Day initiative and 16 Days of Action.”

For more information on Bedfordshire Police’s efforts for 16 Days of Action, including signposting to support, visit 16 Days of Action

If you need to report abuse, contact the police on 101 or use the online reporting tool. In emergencies, always call 999.

Related information:

The Victims’ Commissioner has launched the annual Victims’ Survey.

This seeks feedback from about people’s experiences of the criminal justice system in England and Wales. Responses help the Victims’ Commissioner improve support and outcomes for future victims.

Take the survey here https://eu.research.net/r/OVC24