Making Sutton safer for women and girls

In recent months I’ve written about the work we have been doing to listen to and learn from the concerns women living and working in Sutton have expressed around personal safety. I am pleased today to outline some of the ways in which the Council is addressing the issues that have been raised with us.

I’ve just been confirmed as the Council’s Champion for the Mayor of London’s Women’s Night Safety Charter, which the council has signed up to. This Charter was created specifically to engage with organisations to encourage them to prioritise women’s safety at night, take reporting by women of harassment seriously, and to make Sutton a safer and more welcoming place after dark.

But there is more to the Women’s Night Safety Charter than that. We have committed to seven Pledges - you can read more about them on the council’s website - including encouraging reporting by victims and bystanders, and designing public spaces and workplaces to make them safer for women at night. In the coming months, do keep an eye out for more information and activities based around the Charter.

Signing up to the Charter is just part of a wider programme of work we have been doing. In March I was proud to announce that Sutton Council achieved White Ribbon accreditation. As part of this, several male councillors and council officers signed up to become ambassadors, advocating to take a stand against Violence Against Women and Girls in the borough. 

While signing up to the Women’s Night Safety Charter and receiving White Ribbon accreditation are both positive steps, we recognise there is still more work to be done.

As a Council, we are committed to working alongside the community to ensure that women’s safety is seen as a priority and is understood to be the responsibility of us all. As a community we must work together to keep Sutton safe, not just for women but for everyone who lives, works and visits here. We all have a responsibility to ensure that everyone feels safe in our borough.

Councillor Ruth Dombey

Leader of Sutton Council