Leaders and policymakers from across the county and the region came together to discuss violence against women and girls in Northamptonshire, at a conference organised by Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone.
The conference, titled Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls – A Manifesto for Change, aimed to understand where the current system is not working, and bring together representatives from the public sector and beyond to identify ways to meet the Government’s target of reducing violence against women and girls by 50 per cent in a decade.
Jess Phillips MP, Government Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls joined the conference to talk about the Government’s pledge.
Ms Phillips said that tackling violence would be a truly cross-government task and described the violence that women and girls suffer is “like wallpaper – they are just expected to suffer it”.
Jess Phillips MP
The day also included powerful contributions from top figures across policing, education, the criminal justice system and the third sector.
Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, Chief Fire Officer for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and Chair for the day, named five actions for the delegates to take away and build into their work.
These included making sure that organisations match their actions with the values they set for themselves; ensuring their own staff have trust and feel safe to report their own experiences of abuse, and finding ways to involve men in the conversations about the issues that women face.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone said that having the right partners in the room meant that they could learn from each other – because a community that is safer for women is safer for everyone.
“The scale of violence against women and girls is horrifying,” Danielle said. “Feeling uncomfortable and unsafe at home or in a public space is an everyday experience for some – and I just can’t accept that.
“This conference was intended to bring together people from a variety of different organisations, to make sure that we are challenging each other, that we know how the work we do fits together so that we can prevent this epidemic, as the Government has rightly called it, from continuing.”
Among the speakers, Harriet Wistrich, CEO for the Centre of Women’s Justice said that police training should be better so that officers can understand and act on the signs of domestic abuse.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Millichap, who heads the College of Policing’s National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection (NCVPP) delivered a powerful presentation about her role as the new policing lead for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). She shared the damning statistic that 1 in 12 women are likely to be a victim of VAWG, and 1 in 6 murders are related to domestic abuse.
DAC Millichap said: “Behind every statistic there is a victim, and sometimes by only talking in statistics and policies, we fail to see that properly.
“The voice of victims and their families and survivors is why we need to not let this rightful moment of societal outrage dim, and we must keep it at the forefront of our minds as leaders.”
Helen Millichap, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, College of Policing
During the panel discussion, Helen outlined how the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection will develop training and guidance to support frontline police officers, giving them the confidence to better understand and support victims.
Michael Conroy runs Men at Work to deliver transformative training for professionals in supporting the healthy personal development of boys and young men. Michael said he will be feeding perspectives he had learnt from other speakers into his training of social and youth workers – about Valerie’s Law, which was highlighted earlier in the day by speaker Ngozi Fulani of Sistah Space.
Michael, interviewed by the BBC after the conference said: “This was very well put together, with lots of different voices from around the country but rightly, a local focus.
“It felt very purposeful and focussed and was trying to get to the heart of what needs to be done – and I found that refreshing.
“I was very heartened yesterday that no-one tried to sugar coating and there was very profound reflection on the issues. The Police were well represented, and there were youth workers, social workers, housing – this was a very well put together audience who all had pieces of the jigsaw.”
Michael Conroy, Founder of Men at Work
Danielle Stone said: “This is only the beginning in Northamptonshire, and I can only hope that today will provoke discussion and shared actions that can make real change.”
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls – A Manifesto for Change – Speakers
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Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet, Northamptonshire Police
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Chief Fire Officer Nikki Watson, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service
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Jess Phillips MP, Government Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls
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Sir Andy Marsh, CEO College of Policing
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Helen Millichap, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, College of Policing
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Michael Conroy, Founder of Men at Work
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Harriet Wistrich, CEO Centre For Women’s Justice
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Ngozi Fulani, CEO Sistah Space
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Dr Hannana Siddiqui, Southall Black Sisters
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Northamptonshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Emma James
