Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan consultation

I agree with the approach to tackle a root cause of the violence. But as a woman, i want actions that will help to PREVENT violence NOW. I don’t want you to help me to recover, i want you to do everything possible it will never happen.

Talking about prevention. The most obvious thing to me is to make public spaces and parks well lit after dark. It dark after 4pm in the winter and it’s impossible to avoid dark areas atm without being imprisoned in your home for the whole winter if you are a woman.
What it would cost to do a very practical thing (also very visible to public) to have lightnings in the city parks? it will change lifes of all the women but also men and kids enormously. People will have safe place to go, be fit, get to know the community, and watch each other!

To add even more, all the talks about asking people to use public transport lack the main insights that women are reluctant to give up on personal vehicles because of a safety issues in all those dark streets.

Well lit public spaces is smth that women specifically are starving for.

No amount of extra police officers on the streets, or Ask Angela services will help the cause of violence against women. The problem occurs operationally when front line officers fill in their DASH risk assessments as a result of deeply misogynist police culture. This is not a problem confined to the Met but one we must tackle. Police are commonly encouraged to distance themselves from anything that presents as unevidenced. This provides an unacceptable loophole for stalking, harassment and unphysical domestic abuse. When presented with these claims they will score the women low and fail to pass them on to quality services which might validate their claims and sign their legal aid application forms for example.

One solution, in the absence of central government political will, is to educate doctors and mental health professionals to dig deeper, spot the signs and refer them to quality services. One lazy referral to the National Centre for Domestic Violence is not good enough.

Around London anti social behaviour is out of control (drinking in the streets leading to shouting and violent behaviour, urinating in public, begging and driving around with stupidly loud stereos late at night) is often ignored. We really need more police walking the streets. It is only when the perpetrators move on to more aggression and more violent crime do the police take notice but by then it is often too late.

Potential offenders and reoffenders should be helped finding a purpose and sense of community. This means helping them integrate and find jobs/activities to be involved in that are aimed at building communities and a general sense of purpose.

I agree with making London safer, young people need guidance from ex gang members or ex offenders who can help them. All sexual crimes should be an automatic 30 years in prison. Domestic abusers should be given a minimum of 10 years & they should be in prison from the first reported abuse. More police on the streets at night along with training for the public on how to keep safe.

The police need to be given the powers and support to properly protect and police london, yes they need to be accountable but they need to be given the opportunity and resources to protect the communities not told to hit quotas and benchmarks and abused when things aren’t how keyboard warriors want them. They do a difficult job on a shoe string budget.

Crimals have the upper hand because the police are not allowed to be effective and so are easily prevented from doing their jobs, the mayor, government and courts need to get on the side of the community they should be protecting and stop supporting the criminals that bring violence and misery to those communities.

Police should be allowed to gather evidence but prosecutions only if victim ok to go through that and only after victim safely rehoused. Police could keep evidence for if in future victim able to support charges, and also to help victim when evidence needed for housing and DV agencies.

Police need to interview witnesses. If neighbours or other witnesses call police, victim often too frightened to tell truth (and injuries often hidden by clothes).

Victims fall through gaps when moving areas (which is common when private renting).

Good reasons why victins can't always use local services (same with gang crime).

Needs to be help & support and focus not just on young people. Needs to be help and support for middle aged and older victims too. We are human beings, not worthless rubbish just because no longer young.

Many of the DV murder victims (and victims of other violence) reported in last few years were middle aged or older.

Also there is no specialist support for disabled victims.

Older and disabled, like different race or ethnicity, have specific experiences and needs, and currently there's almost no understanding of those needs and no support.

No way will violence against women and girls end unless safe rehousing options and good support for all victims.

More important than police involvement and criminal justice. Helping victim be safe and to recover and rebuild should be first priority, and shouldn't be blanket approach as sometimes charging the perpetrator doesn't help victim and even makes it worse.

Victims should be able to call police in life threatening situations but not be forced to go through criminal justice system if not able to cope. Helping victim be safe more important.

It's not ok to turn desperate victims away because 'live in wrong area'. Should be mutual agreement between areas to support out of area victims.

I've suffered further physical and mentally injuries after being turned away for help by London services. One advertises as London wide but closed wait lists for some boroughs.

Others don't want to help. They tell you to just leave or go to police (no support offered) and say not relevant if financial abuse or disabilities (which mean you can't just leave). Also trauma means hard to leave without help.

You talk about reducing violence against women and girls who are targeted by men and boys because of their sex yet you use the terms 'gender' in your survey. 'Gender' is not a synonym for sex and you cannot tackle sexism and misogyny (in the police, in the London Assembly or in London) without properly understanding what sex is.

Sex is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and confusing and conflating it with 'gender' could cause you problems with your Public Sector Equality Duty under the Act.

'Gender' and similar terms rely on demeaning, regressive stereotypical notions of societal roles for the two sexes, concepts with which I'm sure you would not wish to be associated.