VIOLENCE Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is still very common in UK society – and local, regional and national governments are trying to combat it. Are their strategies working?
Tower Hamlets Council has a detailed Strategy on how to combat VWAG. It’s very worthy and well meaning. It may be a little too tied up with Town Hall-type events and events where professionals come together. It was therefore welcome to see the Council out in the community, discussing VAWG at the recent Brick Lane Curry Festival.
The Council “Violence Against Women and Girls, Domestic Abuse & Women’s Safety Team” stood at a desk under a Council gazebo – along with the Hate Crime Team. Sometimes it seems a good idea to unite these strands of work, but sometimes it seems that the issue of VAWG is not getting the attention it deserves. It looks like there weren’t any councillors on the stall: if true, this is a shame.
Officers spoke to members of the public about the support the Council offers, which includes the domestic abuse one-stop shop. They discussed male allyship, which seems to be a very academic approach, falling short of suggesting that men just stop being violent.
They also spoke about being a VAWG Champion. The Council is awash with Champions at the moment. The Champions thing is about recruiting individual volunteers who are supposed to promote a certain idea (anti-violence, health, recycling, etc.) in the community. Does this replace the twin strategy of employing people and being engaged with community organisations? Probably not. Maybe someone will evaluate it one day.
●Find out more: ●For one-to-one support, phone Solace on 020-3795 5064. ●For multi-agency support, go to the Women’s Resource Centre (Nari Centre) at 61, Vallance Road London E1 5AB on Mondays from 10am to 12 noon. ●National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808-2000 247 ●For comprehensive information, go to: Tower Hamlets Council VAWG Service Directory
●Read more about it: New courses at Nari Women’s Centre Deputy Mayor is proud of new Women’s Centre