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    Safe Havens

    As a young woman I think I would be able to appreciate my neighbourhood more if I felt safer in it, particularly at night. Street harassment is a really serious issue for the majority of women and girls, and I think recent events should make preventing it even more of a priority. I think it would be a really good idea to have kind of scheme that shops and local businesses could sign up to where they could become ambassadors for safety. They could put a sticker in the window to show that the council have trained them and approved them, and then if a woman or girl felt unsafe (if she was being followed for example) she could go in there and explain the situation. Then the business could either just let her wait there until she felt safe to carry on, or provide any support she wanted, such as contacting the police. The training could be quite simple, but could also involve some kind of simple background check so that women felt completely safe entering the business in the first place. I think a strong community response to street harassment and violence against women and girls is necessary to help confront the issue, as it will let people know that this kind of behaviour will not to be tolerated, and let women know that their neighbourhood is there to support them.

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    Suggested by jessicavru


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    Comments (14)

    Avatar for - Ringed seal

    Having reviewed this thread, I would agree that many of us, male or female, of all ages and orientations do not feel safe in the evenings. This thread contains some interesting suggestions to address the issue, but that is mainly once it...

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    Having reviewed this thread, I would agree that many of us, male or female, of all ages and orientations do not feel safe in the evenings. This thread contains some interesting suggestions to address the issue, but that is mainly once it has arisen. I hasten to add that I have no wish to diminish those suggestions. However, I think we also need to consider the underlying issues and causes of why members of our community think that they can carry out intimidation (or worse) conduct to other members of the community. And, if they are doing that on the streets, then what are they doing (or will they do) in their home environment and at what further social cost? I think we need a co-ordinated approach of support in the evenings, but also campaigns to highlight (and shame) the conduct from the outset. Looking at it another way -- the more vaccines we have (I am speaking figuratively) the fewer ambulances we will need

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    Avatar for - Amur leopard

    Safety really goes to the heart of what makes a city great, we need to start looking out for one another more, so that possibilities of being targeted are eliminated. Maybe free buses for women after dark with more female bus drivers would...

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    Safety really goes to the heart of what makes a city great, we need to start looking out for one another more, so that possibilities of being targeted are eliminated. Maybe free buses for women after dark with more female bus drivers would help. Obviously better pay for bus drivers and cleaners so that no one needs to walk long distances alone or find buses unwelcoming and dirty.

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    Avatar for - Monarch butterfly

    Why only "safe buses for women"? There will be young people, men etc who would equally appreciate free buses.

    Avatar for - Amur leopard

    Would be nice to have free buses for everyone after dark. I'm suggesting women at this time because they are often the targets of harassment and which we are discussing. We need to encourage more women to use public transport after dark and...

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    Would be nice to have free buses for everyone after dark. I'm suggesting women at this time because they are often the targets of harassment and which we are discussing. We need to encourage more women to use public transport after dark and not be the sole woman on board which again puts her in a vulnerable position.

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    Avatar for - Vaquita

    By every means, make the streets safer for our darlings to walk - but please stop going on about "equality".

    Avatar for - Monarch butterfly

    Agreed: "Safe" cities would suffer from eternal light pollution and are environmentally entirely unfriendly for that shrubbery would be cut back, removing any chance for more important life forms (bumble bees, critters, small birds etc) to...

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    Agreed: "Safe" cities would suffer from eternal light pollution and are environmentally entirely unfriendly for that shrubbery would be cut back, removing any chance for more important life forms (bumble bees, critters, small birds etc) to flourish.

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    Avatar for - Tiger

    Be aware of the "Ask for Angela" campaign that's widely supported by most 'hospitality' venues. In principle, if a customer feels threatened in any way, he/she approaches the bar staff and says "Ask for Angela" whereupon the staff will...

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    Be aware of the "Ask for Angela" campaign that's widely supported by most 'hospitality' venues. In principle, if a customer feels threatened in any way, he/she approaches the bar staff and says "Ask for Angela" whereupon the staff will usher the 'victim' into a safe part of the premises and render assistance - whether that be calling a friend, a cab or the police (depending on whatever the situation demands) while maintaining a distance between the victim and the perceived threat. Venues that support this facility have posters in toilets (mostly in the ladies').

    A similar campaign could be rolled out to retail and other venues.

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    Avatar for - Leatherback sea turtle

    A good idea but please don’t forget how scary it can be for young men too. Look also at the assault figures for them. We need to have a general zero tolerance approach to all violence.

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    A good idea but please don’t forget how scary it can be for young men too. Look also at the assault figures for them. We need to have a general zero tolerance approach to all violence.

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    Avatar for -

    Good idea. It would be a hugely positive change from the all too common 'I don't want to get involved' attitude of many shop staff.

    Avatar for - Leatherback sea turtle

    Can police patrol tube stations and bus stations. Street precence can deter crime. Have tube staff at station platforms like in Dubai mtero.
    Have a phone number to alert for immediate help and alert location if someone is following or...

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    Can police patrol tube stations and bus stations. Street precence can deter crime. Have tube staff at station platforms like in Dubai mtero.
    Have a phone number to alert for immediate help and alert location if someone is following or being creepy and inappropriate or losing tempers and threatening

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    Avatar for - Koala

    It's a good idea.

    I feel like reiterating that strong street lighting is essential to making our streets safer. Psychologically, it prevents ill-intentioned men from attempting anything because it makes them feel 'watched'. And we know...

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    It's a good idea.

    I feel like reiterating that strong street lighting is essential to making our streets safer. Psychologically, it prevents ill-intentioned men from attempting anything because it makes them feel 'watched'. And we know that prevention is better for everyone - it saves female victims time and money that would otherwise be spent on lawyers and mental health specialists, it saves the police and the courts time and money that would otherwise be spent on prosecution. Most importantly, it spares women trauma.

    On top of that, by encouraging women to stay out late at night, strong street lighting would prove to be beneficial to the hospitality and entertainment industry - the more women are out at night, the more restaurants, clubs and other night venues will benefit in revenue.

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    Avatar for -

    And the more everyone else does not get sleep at night. The all-night economy is devastating communities' health and well-being. But yes, better street lighting, and redesign it to reduce light pollution. It is the absence of cameras and...

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    And the more everyone else does not get sleep at night. The all-night economy is devastating communities' health and well-being. But yes, better street lighting, and redesign it to reduce light pollution. It is the absence of cameras and over-looking that encourages the attackers, not the street lighting. Council security cameras are no longer monitored where I live.
    And right on those doorbell video cameras - we need them to be affordable for more people.

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    Avatar for -

    I agree wholly with the intent behind your idea and your suggestion on the businesses being able to offer a form of refuge.
    Frankly there's a problem though. The case most recently it's a serving police officer! One who patrols Westminster...

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    I agree wholly with the intent behind your idea and your suggestion on the businesses being able to offer a form of refuge.
    Frankly there's a problem though. The case most recently it's a serving police officer! One who patrols Westminster and number 10.
    It's not surprsing seeing as the power-enthused entitlement and arrogance of people like sadiq, who drive around in their £300k motorcades sends a signal to community officers that they are somehow special.

    Furthermore, there are crime ridden areas of London where no one, male or female, is safe. Those areas have a poor policing response for fear of being labelled rascist. The only outcome of this response is that the areas now pose a persistent risk, whilst the PC brigade do nothing to solve the issue.

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    Avatar for - Tiger

    There is already a similar process in place with pharmacies where a female can seek refugee by quoting a code name.
    Unfortunately with the recent incident, it was during "lockdown" with restrictions in place, such as many businesses not...

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    There is already a similar process in place with pharmacies where a female can seek refugee by quoting a code name.
    Unfortunately with the recent incident, it was during "lockdown" with restrictions in place, such as many businesses not being able to open and less people on the streets near them, with visits to homes of others banned in theory.
    Sadly some men will act badly even when many others around, such as on public transport, and it requires other members of the public to speak out.

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