Maidstone Borough Council commits to ending violence against women

Councillors spoke of their own experiences, and shared what it's like to feel scared just walking alone.   Tara Mewawalla reports.

Transcript

00:00Christmas is a time that many spend celebrating and relaxing,

00:03but for women and girls it's often also a time they become even more aware of their safety,

00:08or lack of it.

00:09Councillor Jenkins-Bulldock, who brought the motion to council, is hoping to change that.

00:14An eight-minute walk from the town hall is Brentley Gardens,

00:17where there have been a number of violent incidents over the years.

00:21In broad daylight you can see people walking their dogs or here with their friends,

00:25but the garden shuts at dusk.

00:27It's a place that a lot of people, especially young women,

00:30wouldn't want to come in the dark.

00:32When it comes to violence against women and girls,

00:34so much of it is about us and our personal safety,

00:36and us having to take responsibility for that.

00:38So all the different things that we are supposed to do,

00:40and we're so used to as women,

00:43to taking those precautions of working out how you're going to get home,

00:46you know, when you have your keys in your hands,

00:48like are you wearing the right footwear that would mean that you could run if you needed to,

00:51all of those things, and it's just not good enough.

00:54Changes are planned in a number of areas,

00:56including using the council's powers of licensing

00:58to address behaviours in taxis, pubs and bars,

01:01and making sure safety is front and centre in any planning decisions,

01:05including the use of CCTV and street lighting.

01:08The challenge now has to be to shift it from women taking responsibility

01:13for their personal safety to it not happening in the first place.

01:16Councillor Sweetman also voted in favour of the motion,

01:19recalling how violence against women had affected her since she was a young girl.

01:23I've seen flashes and I've had harassment as a young person,

01:28and I don't know whether it was the era,

01:31you just accepted it and you shouldn't have accepted it,

01:35and after that I was very self-conscious,

01:38I'm frightened to walk on my own in the woods, in anywhere, countryside,

01:43because every man I saw I thought they were going to hurt me.

01:46It's very important to tackle because women need to be safe, they need to feel safe.

01:50We will be watching, the women on this council will be watching.

01:54A strong word of warning from Councillor Maureen Cleater.

01:58The final recommendation is that progress be reported back to council in April.

02:02Tara Mawawala for KMTV in Maidstone.