16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence - Mayor's blog
West of England Mayor Helen Godwin, in her first blog for us, refel
We’re marking 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence with this year’s theme focused on online abuse – something as a female politician, I’m no stranger to.
Having grown up in a pre-social media world, I am grateful that I have only had to navigate this as a mature adult but, it is impossible to ignore the power of social media and the unacceptable behaviour of people online.
Within just weeks of my election in May, I woke up to an online death threat, which triggered huge fear and anxiety and the reality that this would be the first of many. Of course, online abuse is not just aimed at those of us in public life but is something that women and girls from all walks of life face daily.
This year’s campaign calls for us all to take action to stop the spread of online abuse.
Throughout my political career I’ve done all I can to end gender-based violence, and I'm delighted to see the new regional Women’s Commission up and running and leading on this work for the West of England. Earlier this autumn, I attended and spoke at the first Women's Summit - a great event shining a spotlight on the challenges, and the path ahead.
The commission builds on the brilliant work of the Bristol Women’s Commission, which I was a member of during my time as cabinet lead for women and children at Bristol City Council. I’m really encouraged to see the establishment of a new dedicated Tackling Misogyny Task Group.
The group will consider misogyny in all its guises, and we at the Combined Authority will be keen to support and play our role supporting this group.
Misogyny needs tackling at all levels – from calling out sexism, even amongst friends and family where you see it, to schools helping equip our boys with the tools they need to avoid being drawn into incel culture, and workplaces signposting survivors to support services and rooting out sexual harassment.
Of course, national, regional and local government has a role to play too.
I’m pleased that this Labour Government is taking clear steps to stop gender-based violence, with an ambition to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). There are measures in both the Crime and Policing Bill and Online Safety Bill that better protect women and girls and, perhaps most importantly, start to challenge the sexist culture that underpins male violence.
Banning choking porn; requiring platforms to remove harmful content; creating new crimes around deep-fakes and sending threats to kill or rape online; introducing stalking protection orders and creating special domestic abuse courts; the list goes on and will continue to grow.
Much of this work has been driven by female MPs such as Jessica Phillips and Alex Davies-Jones showing that women’s representation really does matter. When we have women in positions of power – which we do here in the West of England – we see more meaningful change in these areas.
We’re fortunate enough to have a female-led police force. My colleague Clare Moody as Police and Crime Commissioner, Sarah Crew as Chief Constable and Superintentent Lorett Spierenburg representing the police on the women’s commission. They’re spearheading transformational approaches to tackling sexual and domestic abuse and are showing other areas the way forward. Clare and I work closely together, and we are both committed to using all the levers we collectively have to ensure the safety of women and girls in the West of England.
I want all the partners in the region to be able to bring change and the women’s commission is the ideal vehicle to do this – bringing together cross-sector partners to identify and address the issues impacting women and girls across the region.
Follow their #16Days campaign and learn more about what work is underway to address gender-based violence here in the West of England.
