Thames Valley Police announces action plan to confront sexual violence against women

Thames Valley Police has announced its White Ribbon Action Plan today (Friday).

The new campaign represents TVP's pledge to stamp out misogyny, sexism and male-perpetrated violence against women and girls. The force became White Ribbon accredited in March.

Assistant chief constable, Dennis Murray, said: "22,418 violence against women and girls offences in the Thames Valley area between October 2021 and September 2022 were committed by men, including murder, violence with injury and rape."

"Today we are launching our three year White Ribbon Action Plan, starting with 16 days of action from November 25 here at Thames Valley.

"White Ribbon is a global campaign encouraging people, especially men and boys, to individually and collectively take action and change the behaviour and culture that leads to abuse and violence.

"The action plan is the force's commitment to achieving the best service for vulnerable victims and survivors and supports ongoing work to tackle violence against women and girls.

"Men's violence against women is an ongoing problem and was compounded by the Covid pandemic. Violence against women occurs across all cultures and communities and it's important to understand that violence against women does not always involve physical abuse. Domestic violence can take many forms, including sexual, social, emotional, cultural, spiritual, financial, along with a wide range of controlling, coercive and intimidating behaviours.

"VAWG is estimated to affect at least one in three women and girls at some point in their lifetime and can have a devastating impact on victims, their families and wider communities.

"We know that, whilst statistically men are more likely to become victims of violent crime than women are, there is a significant difference. There are certain crimes, such as rape, stalking, domestic abuse, female genital mutilation, harassment, 'up skirting' and digital crimes such as cyber-flashing and ‘revenge porn’ that disproportionately affect women and girls.

"The majority of violence experienced by women and girls takes place whilst they go about their everyday lives. This is why our work to tackle violence against women and girls is so important.

"To end men's violence against women, we need to challenge and change the attitudes, behaviours and social norms that excuse or condone disrespect, sexual harassment and abuse – this will take time. We all need to play our part and we need men who know they are part of the solution to be equipped with the tools they need to make change in themselves, their communities and our society.

"The force is already working hard to improve our service in respect of crimes such as rape, stalking and domestic abuse. Senior officers dedicated to these areas are ensuring that the force improves training, makes better use of all legal powers and closely monitors performance of officers and teams.

"We will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to ensure we identify and reduce risk to women and girls at every opportunity and that victims are given excellent care, support and service. We know that confidence in policing will have been damaged as a result of recent events. We continue to work in our communities to restore confidence and to protect the public at every opportunity."

If you're a victim of violence, abuse or intimidation, or know someone who is, please contact police and partner agencies. Victims of domestic abuse can use Ask for ANI (Action Needed Immediately) to signal for help from the safety of a pharmacy. Visit https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/police-forces/thames-valley-police/areas/c/campaigns/2021/ask-for-ani/ to find out which pharmacies are involved in the codeword scheme.

Also, StreetSafe is a pilot service for anyone to anonymously inform the police about public places where they have felt or feel unsafe, because of environmental issues such as street lighting, abandoned buildings or vandalism or because of inappropriate behaviours including being followed or verbally abused.