I live my life all too aware of male violence to women
COUNCILLOR’S PLEA TO CREATE CITY OF SAFETY AND ‘WITHOUT FEAR’
A COUNCILLOR has launched an impassioned plea for more action to be taken to tackle male violence against women and girls.
Coun Sarah Judge said the town hall ‘would not rest until we create a city where all women can live safely and without fear.’
A survey by UN Women UK found that 97 per cent of women aged 18 to 24 had been sexually harassed, while 80 per cent of women of all ages had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces. The assistant executive member for skills, culture and leisure said the death of Sarah Everard, and protests held across the country since, has put the issue into sharp relief.
Coun Judge told a meeting of Manchester council’s executive: “As a woman I live my life all too acutely aware of male violence towards women and girls. In my professional life I deal with male violence towards women and I see the devastating impact this has every single day.
“As a woman I choose not to walk through parks at night, I update people on my arrival home from a night out. If I find myself walking alone at night I’m on edge and very aware of what could happen to me.” The Woodhouse Park councillor added: “I discussed this with my 14-year-old stepdaughter this week, she was angry at my suggestions that women shouldn’t go out at night so they don’t get attacked.
“She said we’re not attacking ourselves, we don’t need to stay in, men just need to stop attacking. It may be argued that it’s not as simple as that but in so many ways it absolutely is.”
Coun Judge welcomed a £19m investment by the government to tackle domestic abuse – including a £4m investment in establishing a network of ‘respite rooms’ for vulnerable homeless women in England.
But she said: “It is not enough, it doesn’t address the wider issue of male violence against women and girls. Male violence against women is a killer, and campaigners have been fighting for the women behind the statistics for generations.
“Unfortunately this topic doesn’t get the focus it deserves and we find ourselves yet again mourning another woman lost to male violence.
“It’s not a women’s issue, it’s a men’s issue and we need men to come together and address this problem in a constructive manner given that the level of focus required before more innocent lives are ruined and lost.”
Coun Judge also announced plans to table a motion at a future council meeting calling for an end to misogyny, violence and harassment against women and girls.
The motion by Coun Judge, which could be heard at the last full council meeting of the municipal year on March 31, has won the initial backing of the Liberal Democrats group.
Leader of the opposition, Coun John Leech, told the executive that he hoped the issue could be one the entire council could be ‘100 per cent united on.’
He said: “One of the issues that needs to be addressed is the whole issue around neighbourhood policing and their hours of operation to give people more of a feeling of being safer on the streets.
“When we have neighbourhood policing teams that aren’t working throughout the night, it’s not much of a wonder that people don’t feel safe to be walking on the streets late at night.”
It’s not a women’s issue, it’s a men’s issue and we need men to address this
Coun Sarah Judge