The first course of students to benefit from a bespoke package to tackle violence against women and girls has been completed.
Northampton College has created and delivered a bespoke training package for the college’s students, building on the nationally-recognised ‘Stand by Her’ training, which aims to tackle harassment and cultural attitudes towards women and girls and has been funded by the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold as part of the Safer Streets Project.
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has invested over £20,000 on the project which has allowed up to 10 college tutors to create and deliver the course to over 1000 students across nine interactive sessions.
The training aims to start conversations with men about negative attitudes and behaviours towards women and to empower participants to actively challenge derogatory and inappropriate behaviour by their peers and colleagues.
Reducing violence against women and girls is a priority for Commissioner, Stephen Mold and working in partnership with other organisations such as Northampton College is enabling projects like the ‘Stand by Her’ training to have the widest reach across the community.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Stephen Mold said:
“It is fantastic that the first cohort of students have successfully completed their ‘Stand by Her’ training. By working with Northampton College, we are reaching a key demographic of young people who can make a big difference in society and I’m very grateful for the way they have embraced this, wholeheartedly.”
“We are hoping that these sessions can create more allies and empower young men to challenge inappropriate behaviour against women and girls.”
Stephen Ratcliffe-Jones, who has led the Stand By Her programme for Northampton College, said:
“It has been hugely encouraging to see the reaction of students to the content of the course and it has prompted dozens of conversations between peer groups around what is and isn’t acceptable and how people should react if they see something they know isn’t right.
“By educating young men on this subject at this point it can hopefully have a real impact on behaviours in future life, making the streets of Northampton a much safer place for women to enjoy.”
