The West Yorkshire police arrested over 140 people in the week of action against violence on women.
From Monday 18 September to Sunday 24 September, officers, and staff from across the organisation carried out a variety of work in the nighttime economy, in educational settings and in the local communities in West Yorkshire to support in tackling violence against women and girls.
144 arrests were made across the five districts, 53 charges given to offenders of VAWG related offences and 74 revisits to victims.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by violence and abuse, which includes rape and sexual offences, domestic abuse, honour-based abuse, and stalking and harassment.
In addition, they are also more likely to be affected by inappropriate contact, catcalling, misogyny, explicit messaging, and unwanted touching – and although these behaviours may not all meet a criminal threshold, they could be precursors for further offending, and add to women feeling unsafe.
The Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, which was introduced in December 2021, sets out the Force’s objectives for pursuing perpetrators of these offences, introducing initiatives to better deal with these offences, working with partners to create safe spaces and to identify sexual and violent offending at the earliest opportunity.
A key part of the strategy demonstrates the commitment to listening to the experiences of women and girls who have been subjected to offences and ensuring efficient and supportive victim care to those who find themselves navigating the criminal justice system.
Detective Superintendent Vanessa Rolfe, the Force’s VAWG Lead, said:
“Tackling violence against women and girls remains an absolute priority in policing across West Yorkshire. Any form of violence or inappropriate or unwelcome behaviour against women and girls is unacceptable.
“Whilst we focus on tackling violence against women and girls all year round, the week of action gave us the opportunity to put an additional focus on raising awareness for our young people across the county, supporting with education and student-based events whilst continuing to focus on tackling offenders and taking them off our streets.
“We are determined to continue to do the very best for women, girls, communities within West Yorkshire, our staff and the people we work with. Tackling violence against women and girls needs a joint response. The responsibility does not solely sit within policing, and we will continue to work closely with our partners, communities and wider society so people can go about their daily lives without fear of violence or harassment. We want women and girls to feel safe and be safe here in West Yorkshire”.
Director of the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership, Det Ch Supt Lee Berry said: “Tackling violence against women and girls has to be a partnership approach, working side by side with our communities to change cultures, attitudes and behaviours.
“This latest week of action is a great snapshot of our ongoing efforts to make a difference, and we continue to educate and inform young people in West Yorkshire across our interventions, projects and programmes.”
West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin, said: “Keeping women and girls safe is a key priority in our mission to build a stronger, safer West Yorkshire.
“We are working with police officers and other partners right across the region to help achieve this goal.
“Our message is absolutely clear – violence against women and girls is unacceptable and we will bring it to an end.”
