Businesses in a Kirklees town have joined forces with Police to add to hundreds of safe spaces on offer for women and girls this winter.
Café’s bars and retailers in Holmfirth have become the latest to join the flagship Safe Zone scheme which has seen communities across Kirklees set up more nearly 300 safe spaces for women and girls in public places.
It is expected that some of those taking part will also soon be visible on the free downloadable Walk Safe app which already allows users to pinpoint locations of a number of Safe Zones across the district on their smart phones.
A total of 288 Safe Zones operate in Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Mirfield and more and promote themselves with the specially designed Safe Zone sticker.
Safe Zones are areas where a woman, or child could step off the street if they feel they are being followed until the risk has passed, or they might wish to charge their phone and call a friend or parent.
Existing locations include retailers, bars, cafes, sports centres, public buildings and bus stations.
The continuing expansion is also just one of a range of safety initiatives operating in Kirklees District with a focus on protecting women and girls as well as persons who may be particularly vulnerable.
Recent initiatives include darker nights crime prevention initiatives in Kirklees including an event in Batley and Spen this week to help make women more aware of how they can increase their personal safety.
Inspector Vanessa Briggs of the Kirklees Rural NPT said, “The expansion of our Safe Zone scheme has been a real success story in recent years and its clearly very good news that we are now near to having 300 safe spaces in our communities.
“It’s really welcome for us and partners to add businesses in Holmfirth to our ever-growing list and I want to thank all those who have joined up in recent weeks.”
“Safe Zones are places you can go to get help if something happens that makes you feel scared or are in fear of someone or something, “Inspector Amanda Holroyd added. “They are identified by the Safe Zone logo and are a central part of our work to reduce violence against women.
“The Walk Safe app is another key part of this work, and we look to continue adding Safe Zones to it across our communities to make them easier to identify for those who need them.”
