Cornwall towns with higher than average rates of violent crimes against women and girls
Falmouth and Penryn have been awarded £33,000 from the Safer Streets Fund
Last updated 27th Oct 2021
Cornwall Council has been awarded more than £33,000 to help prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG).
The Council was awarded the money following a successful bid to the Government’s Safer Streets fund to support projects in the Falmouth area.
Falmouth and neighbouring Penryn have campuses for both Falmouth and Exeter universities, which support approximately 11,000 students in the area.
The area therefore has a disproportionately large number of young women aged 16-24, more than any other area in Cornwall and Falmouth and Penryn have higher rates of non-domestic VAWG crimes than the Cornwall average by around a third.
The Safer Streets grant will pay for the installation of six new CCTV cameras in Falmouth town centre. It will also be used to support a student-led VAWG group to run awareness campaigns or projects, as well as bystander training for staff employed in the night-time economy.
Anna MacGregor, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence co-ordinator at Cornwall Council, said: “Women and girls should not feel threatened or intimated on our streets.
"The increased CCTV is a great asset in relation to everyone’s safety in Falmouth, but it is the awareness raising and training that will have long term impact and help to highlight the longstanding risk posed to women and girls in our society".
Anne added: "We have to dismantle long-standing cultural, societal and gender norms and to do this we need to engage with everyone in our communities and collectively challenge inequality from a gender informed perspective".
The projects will be delivered by Safer Falmouth on behalf of Cornwall’s community safety partnership, Safer Cornwall.
Olly Bayliss, community safety officer for the West of Cornwall at Cornwall Council, said: "after Falmouth has listened to the local community and recognises that there is concern among young women and girls in the town.
"Everyone has the right to enjoy our town and feel safe. This money gives us a fantastic opportunity to fund projects that will challenge behaviours, raise awareness and help people feel safer".
Cllr Carol Mould, Cornwall Council's portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, said: "At a time when the safety of women and girls on our streets is in such sharp focus, this successful bid to the Government's Safer Streets Fund is fantastic news for Falmouth.
"I look forward to working with our partners to ensure that this investment creates a lasting legacy and helps increase women and girls' feelings of safety in our public spaces".