Birmingham City Council's assistant director of community safety and resilience has urged women in the city to 'speak up' as the fight against Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) continues.
Council's Commitment to Safety
Waqar Ahmed, the council's assistant director of community safety and resilience, stated that Birmingham City Council is doing its 'utmost best' to ensure that women not only feel safer in the city but also do not have to worry about their safety. Speaking to BirminghamLive, Mr Ahmed issued a direct message to the women and girls of Birmingham: 'If you need support, seek support. Come into the city centre. It is safe. We are going to try and make it more safe.'
Encouraging Women to Speak Up
He urged anyone feeling vulnerable in the city to 'speak up', adding that the council 'wants to hear from you.' Mr Ahmed elaborated: 'Do speak up. If you are in a vulnerable situation or if people are saying stuff or doing stuff, do speak up and do alert us. We need to know from you. We need to hear from you in order for us to make things safer for you, but also for us to implement initiatives and activities that work for you and everyone.'
He emphasised: 'We want people to visit not just the city, but all parts of Birmingham, and we'll do our utmost best to ensure that not only do women feel safer in the city, but they don't have to worry about safety.'
Priorities and Initiatives
The assistant director identified the council's current priorities for keeping women and girls safe, including 'early intervention and prevention,' 'holding perpetrators to account,' and 'education and awareness.' Mr Ahmed shared that the council has recently allocated more officers to work within Birmingham's night-time economy, partnering with businesses and the recently launched Birmingham safety app, WalkSafe.
He added: 'We've recently launched our Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, and we've got our work around domestic abuse, which was launched a year back as well. We're going to continue to deliver against the activities and the actions around that. We're going to continue to work with partners and businesses in the city, not just in the city centre. We're going to be looking at work across the city and working with survivor charities, the voluntary sector, the community, and our schools.'
Listening to Residents
Mr Ahmed reiterated the emphasis on 'listening more' to residents regarding activities they may want to be worked on. Rounding off, the assistant director stated: 'It is really important for us to state that Violence Against Women and Girls and domestic abuse are key priorities for not just the council, but our partners and stakeholders as well.'
