Agenda item

Cabinet RESOLVED to:

2.1   To endorse the work undertaken to deliver the Violence Against Women and Girls Delivery Plan

2.2   To agree the plan contained in appendix 1 as the three-year delivery plan.

2.3   To agree the commitment to maintain the levels of funding for making Croydon safer for women and girls at the same levels for the three-year duration of this plan.

2.4   To support the ongoing work and future commitments with the voluntary sector and communities.

The Executive Mayor introduced the first-ever Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Delivery Plan.

Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Councillor Ola Kolade dedicated the plan to the victims and their families. Cabinet noted that there are also specialised services to support men and boys who can also suffer and will have the same level of support available tackling all forms of gender based violence.

Christabel Yeboah, Chair of the BME Domestic Abuse Partnership addressed Cabinet highlighting key aspects of the strategy. The strategy draws attention to intersectionality, which identifies that people who have an intersecting identity such as people who come from different ethnicities, race, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexualities and gender identity's are more likely to experience multiple strands of abuse at the same time so focuses on making sure that support is both inclusive and accessible with victims and survivors at the forefront.

The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Stuart King welcomed the presentation of the delivery plan and asked whether a three-year delivery plan rather than a longer term strategy would be the most effective approach and if it would inadvertently hamper the ability to tap into government funding as it becomes available, if that funding might be focused on longer term initiatives and objectives. Further as Croydon carry a large caseload of high risk cases what are the actual numbers of such cases and how and in what way can a reduction be expected over the course of the three year plan.

The Executive Mayor responded that there are certain elements that will take longer to achieve but work is already underway.

The Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Councillor Ola Kolade added that the plan and framework demonstrate the connection and commitment to this issue and will enable alternative funding to be sought. Also, a specialist support service will soon be established in the town centre to compliment the work already happening with the task force and police.

The Director of Culture and Community Safety, Kristian Aspinall added  that the framework will allow Croydon to bid for longer term funding and will not hamper the attraction of further funding. The objectives is to spread awareness which will initially lead to an increase in reporting this crime, in the long run the actions in this plan should see a decrease in both referrals to services and in criminal rates in the borough.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Councillor Enid Mollyneaux thanked those who were involved in creating the plan and asked as the World Health Organisation stated that violence against women is preventable what specific figures and data will be shared on an annual basis so that the community can understand that a difference has been made.

Both successes and failures will be communicated to the community at the Engagement Forum. In terms of demonstrating whether prevention is working this will be evident at the end of the plan in three years time when a reduction in the numbers is seen.

Cabinet RESOLVED to:

2.1   To endorse the work undertaken to deliver the Violence Against Women and Girls Delivery Plan

2.2   To agree the plan contained in appendix 1 as the three-year delivery plan.

2.3   To agree the commitment to maintain the levels of funding for making Croydon safer for women and girls at the same levels for the three-year duration of this plan.

2.4   To support the ongoing work and future commitments with the voluntary sector and communities.