“In the city centre – in broad daylight – is probably when we feel the most unsafe and where we get the most attention.”
This is how one member of a female running group in Nottingham explained why they welcome a police campaign to tackle violence against women and girls.
Phoebe Lake and Caitlin Boughton from ‘These Girls Run’, both say they have experienced cat-calling, filming and have been physically grabbed in the city.
They hope the new Nottinghamshire Police campaign, called ‘Walk in My Shoes’, will help improve safety for women and girls.
The force is encouraging people to fill out an online survey to help inform what sort of police action is needed in particular areas of concern.
Phoebe, who is the leader of the Nottinghamshire branch of the club said: “A lot of the girls joined the run group because they felt unsafe running alone, but unfortunately even as a group of women it is still really difficult.
“In the city centre – in broad day light – is probably when we feel the most unsafe and where we get the most attention.”
“There are lots of hotspot areas which I think can only be targeted if we get responses.”
Caitlin Boughton, an ambassador for the group, added: “As a woman I know we have all pretty much had instances of cat-calling. I’ve been grabbed before by a male on a run. We’ve all had something happen.
“As a survey it is so good to hear about how women feel in Nottinghamshire and we want to hear as many people’s opinions to make sure the changes do happen.
“From a running perspective a lot of women do feel unsafe running, and it means a lot of women won’t run by themselves.”
Violence against women and girls is an umbrella term that includes instances of stalking, harassment and sexual assault.
According to the National Audit Office, violence against women and girls offences account for 20 per cent of all police-recorded crime across the country.
Nottinghamshire Police launched the eight-week campaign on Monday (March 31).
Superintendent Heather Maelor, one of the leads for the campaign, said: “I think there is lots of violence against women and girls that still goes unreported.
“This is an opportunity to open that door. It might be about targeting police patrols in a specific area where there is anti-social behaviour happening, increasing lighting and CCTV.
“A lot of women will have experienced unwanted behaviour from men. It continues to be a national threat to society and therefore we continue our work to tackle it, and hopefully women and girls see we are absolutely committed to it.”
