Cumberland Community Safety Partnership (CSP)

Violence against Women and Girls

VAWG Priority

What is the issue

VAWG

 

The harm caused to victims and society by violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all its forms – including but not limited to harassment, stalking, rape, sexual assault, murder, honour-based abuse, coercive control – is immeasurable.

While men and boys also suffer from many of these forms of abuse, they disproportionately affect women. A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK. Domestic abuse makes up 18 per cent of all recorded crime in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2022, there were 194,683 sexual offences, of which 70,330 were rape.

Policing, and society, must focus on violence against women and girls so that it can be eradicated. The policing response has been shown to be inconsistent and so there is now a national focus on supporting forces to prioritise VAWG-related crimes.

All police forces in England and Wales now have an action plan to increase action against dangerous perpetrators, build women’s trust and confidence and help make spaces safer for all women. These plans are all based on the joint strategy released by the NPCC and the College of Policing.

In 2024, Cumberland CSP adopted VAWG as one of its four priorities, working in partnership to tackle this issue.

 

What are we doing in Cumberland

Working together to change attitudes and behaviours towards women and girls that undermine safety. 

  • We are developing a Cumbria-wide, Women’s VAWG Panel. This will consist of women only from a wide range of communities within Cumbria. The group will act in an advisory capacity, working with the CSP in its approach to VAWG, including reviewing policing policy, procedure, process, and VAWG initiatives.
  • Cumbria Constabulary’s Child Centred Policing Team has created a VAWG awareness package aimed at years 9, 10 and 11 that will be rolled out to schools and colleges.

Encouraging increased reporting from victims of VAWG 

  • The CSP plans a media campaign throughout 2025 and beyond that highlights its VAWG work, to improve women and girls feeling / perception of safety. We plan to carry out a further #CALLITOUT survey in 2026 to see if the measures we have put in place to “create safer spaces” have had any positive impact on perceptions of safety and in doing so contributed towards “building trust and confidence”.
  • In 2024  we supported Cumbria Police with two Anti-Spiking campaigns that are part of the VAWG agenda. The message was A Victim of Spiking is NEVER to Blame and Will ALWAYS Be Believed.

Targeting those areas identified as VAWG ‘hot spots’ and work together to minimise the risk to women and girls in those areas using target hardening and Working together to develop a safe and vibrant night-time economy across Cumberland, free from violence and fear. 

  • The CSP, in partnership with Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Community Safety Network, will be piloting the Place Standard Tool specifically adapted to be used through the lens of community safety, focusing on VAWG and ASB issues within Carlisle Night-time economy.
  • We have jointly introduced the Walksafe app, to provide a free service to women and girls within Carlisle city centre to improve the feeling of safety.
  • The Safer Streets Welfare Hub is situated in Carlisle’s VAWG Hot-Spot, which also incorporates partnership Welfare / VAWG patrols between Council Safer Streets Officers and Cumbria Constabulary Carlisle NPT Officers. Cumbria Police will be introducing a night-time operation targeting those who display and engage in predatory or inappropriate behaviour in the city centre.

Ensuring licensed premises are safe and complement violence reduction initiatives.

  • The CSP plans to co-ordinate work across partners to increase the use of safety initiatives within licensed premises operating in the Night-time economy to improve the safety of women and girls, and support the ongoing development of the WalkSafe App.