‘There are no safe spaces for women’ says former Mayor
CLLR STEVE WILSON CALLS FOR EDUCATION
FORMER Lord Mayor Steve Wilson delivered a powerful speech in a recent full Hull council debate on violence against women and girls.
Two days later two women were hospitalised after being spiked during a night out in Hull city centre.
Today the Mail publishes Cllr Wilson’s speech in full as a contribution to a much-needed wider public debate on the issue.
He said: “As a gay man who was out in his teens and is now in his 60s living in a northern town, I can say my experiences don’t compare anywhere near what the women in this city go through on a daily basis.
“It seems to me there are no safe spaces for women and young girls anymore and men have made this so.
“Life outside the home is not safe for women, travelling on public transport is not safe for women, the workplace is not safe for women.
“Women’s leisure time is not safe. Why should a woman not be able to jog down the street without the fear of being attacked?
“Why should their worlds be smaller and more restricted than men’s?
“Even the home is not safe. Over 90 per cent of rapes and sexual assaults on women happen in the home.
“The home is where women are betrayed by their husbands, their boyfriends and their exes. These men, if you can call them that, coerce, blackmail and control women.
“There needs to be a comprehensive approach to this starting with education.
“Almost daily in the hostel where I work I see young men verbally abusing female members of staff and threatening them with violence.
“Where did these young men learn this behaviour? From their dads? From their brothers? From TV? From music?
“In University ward, which I represent, we are well aware of the devastating consequences of violence against women. The violent death of Libby Squire shocked this city.
“We are working with student accommodation providers and the University of Hull to make the
university quarter a safer space for students.
“Local landlords such as Kexgill have invested heavily in CCTV, security patrols and 24-hour helplines, but education is vital to stop this.
“I want my granddaughter to be able to walk the streets of her home site in safety and it’s about time we stopped blaming women for men’s violence against them.”