Nationwide call for views on tackling violence against women and girls reopens
The government has this evening reopened its nationwide Call for Evidence on tackling violence against women and girls. The survey will reopen for two weeks in recognition of the widespread sharing of experiences on social media in response to the tragic developments in the Sarah Everard case.
This Call for Evidence, which originally closed in February, is seeking to collect views from those with lived experience of, or views on, crimes considered as violence against women and girls. The findings will help inform the Government’s forthcoming Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, which will be published in the summer. The public survey is open to all genders.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Everyone should be free to walk our streets without the slightest fear. With Sarah and her family in my thoughts and prayers, I will continue to do all I can in my role as Home Secretary to protect women and girls.”
Yesterday Jess Phillips MP read the names of the women killed in the UK in the last year, where a man has been convicted or charged as the main perpetrator. It took her more than four minutes.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that women feel safer than they previously have. In 2019/20, 69% of women aged 16 and over said that they felt very or fairly safe walking alone after dark. This proportion has increased over recent years, from 57% in 2012/13.
Despite this, a survey published by UN Women UK on Wednesday found that nearly all women surveyed aged between 18-24 had been sexually harassed (97%) and over 70% of women of all ages had experienced sexual harassment in public places.
The government’s initial Call for Evidence was open for 10 weeks from 10 December 2020 before closing on 19 February 2021. The survey closed with over 15,000 responses. The survey responses were made up of a range of ages, genders and ethnicities, and came from across the UK.
You can take part in the survey here: Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Call for Evidence.
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