Chapter 5: Create and develop sustainable places and communities
Safer environments for gender equality
Education has to start early, and it has to address boys and young men as well. All too often, responsibility falls upon the girls and young women to behave in a manner to protect themselves or discourage violence against them.
(Home Office. (2021). Tackling violence against women and girls strategy)
Whilst the factors that contribute to gender-based violence are complex, the risk of it occurring in the first place has been linked to attitudes toward gender roles, both at an individual and societal level. At an individual level, it's been found that unfair and unjust gender beliefs and permissive attitudes about violence against women are important risk factors for male perpetration of violence. At a societal level, and in terms of over-arching social norms, societies that tolerate violence and inequality are associated with an increased risk of violence against women and girls.
Effective prevention must include early intervention to attempt to influence these values in childhood and adolescence, as well as shifting social norms to become less accepting of violence and inequality. Interventions that challenge social norms aim to prevent violence by making it less socially acceptable.
Having safe and secure communities also encourages more people to exercise, socialise or adopt more sustainable lifestyles (for example; using public transport) and reduces social isolation. The Home Office Safer Streets Fund supports local areas to improve the safety of public spaces for all, with a particular focus on addressing violence against women and girls and improving women's safety. In Gateshead, we want to make public places safer. We want women and girls to feel safe. We want to promote women's safety and encourage reporting. We want to co-design, and deliver interventions with key partners across the public and voluntary sector based on the insights from women and girls in the area and taking a public health approach to attitude and behaviour change.
Safer Streets
Northumbria's Safer Streets project is looking at the night-time economy and the safety of public places across the region, with a focus on developing safer routes home for women and girls.
There has been anecdotal evidence from services and residents that underpasses are 'unnerving' and cause people to feel unsafe. As part of the Safer Streets project, Gateshead has identified two underpasses, close to the town centre and connecting routes to Quayside and Newcastle, for improvement such as better lighting, signage and decoration.
Gateshead Community Safety Survey
Our Community Safety team has launched a new online survey to understand how residents feel about public safety in Gateshead. Using a map-based tool you can mark where you feel unsafe, tell us why and suggest what we can do to help people feel safer in our public spaces.
Gateshead Community Safety Survey will help us understand people's feelings of safety in Gateshead so that we can work together to improve community safety. We particularly welcome the views of women who live, work and visit the borough.
White Ribbon Accreditation
Gateshead Council is committed to working to end men's violence against women by becoming White Ribbon Accredited. White Ribbon is a global campaign that encourages people, especially men and boys, to both individually and collectively act and change the behaviour and culture that leads to abuse and violence.
As an accredited organisation, we will develop and deliver a comprehensive action plan to change the cultures that lead to abuse and violence and promote gender equality. Actions include the development of a domestic abuse policy for employees and appointing volunteer White Ribbon Champions to carry the message out to more men through their professional networks and local communities.
(White Ribbon UK. (2022). White Ribbon Campaign. https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/ (opens new window))