Issue - meetings

Lynsey Kelly,Community Safety Manager, to present report

Karen Samuels, Head of Community Safety, introduced the report to the panel. The Head of Community Safety introduced Kathy Cole-Evans, Strategy Co-ordinator/Manager Domestic Violence Forum, to the panel to contribute to the discussion.

The Head of Community Safety introduced the report to the panel and outlined the aims of the strategy, which builds on the progress of the previous strategy which ended in 2019.  The Head of Community Safety commented on work done to align services to reduce the risk of violence against girls and women.

The Head of Community Safety while highlighting the success of the previous strategy added there was acceptance that there was still more work to be done. The Head of Community Safety commented that the strategy had been updated to include stalking and harassment as a new area focus.

The Head of Community Safety commented on the work of the Wolverhampton Domestic Violence Forum (WDVF) which had led to the inclusion of stalking and harassment as part of the refresh of the strategy. The Head of Community Safety commented that while 83% of reported victims are women, there is a recognition that local and nationally, that there are both female and male victims and perpetrators. This aspect is reflected in the refreshed strategy. The Head of Community Safety outlined the six themes covered by the strategy.

The members of the Safer Wolverhampton Partnership will be responsible for the governance and delivery of the strategy. The Strategy Co-ordinator advised that the WDVF had representatives from all the key organisations and the necessary building blocks are in place to respond to the needs of victims. The Strategy Co-ordinator commented on the range of training given to 3,500 frontline staff and community groups to both raise awareness of the issues and to recognise the signs of people at risk, so that cases can be referred to the appropriate agency.  The Strategy Co-ordinator welcomed suggestions from the panel about local groups that could be visited to talk about the issue of violence against girls and women. The closing date for the public consultation is 12 March 2019 and panel members were encouraged to contribute.

The Head of Community Safety gave a brief summary of the responses received and the key themes. The issue of ‘breast ironing’ was highlighted as an emerging concern, there was no evidence of any local cases.

The panel were invited to comment on the strategy. The panel suggested that the strategy should be revised to include a reference to the impact and use of social media which contribute to issues such as harassment and stalking. The Head of Community Safety agreed to include a reference to social media in the strategy. The panel queried the work done to raise awareness of the issue of FGM among different communities and also to involve representatives of the LGBT community in the consultation.

The Head of Community panel reassured the panel that representatives of LGBT community while not listed in the draft have been consulted about the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8