London’s biannual Women’s Night Safety Charter summit has convened recently at the Hurlingham Club, London, with guest speakers and panellists talking about the key issues impacting women at night – and how they can be counteracted through action.
Attended by around 200 delegates on the day made up of signatories to the Women’s Night Safety Charter for London, and potential new businesses and organisations yet to sign, the event, which was organised by the Safer Business Network, helps to convey the seriousness of the issues at hand, while offering solutions to help women feel safer and more informed.
The summit was hosted by Amy Lamé, London’s Night Czar, and included a presentation from Anthea Sully, CEO of White Ribbon, the charity dedicated to reducing violence against women and girls (VAWG) and Sam Mathys, Late Night Levy Manager at London Borough of Hackey, where they shared best practice on their #dontcrossthelinecampaign
Other aspects of the agenda included a panel discussion on football. Chaired by Amy Lamé, the panellists included Joanne Surgeoner, Fan Engagement manager at Brentford FC; Leisha Wegg, Health and Wellbeing Lead at Tottenham Hotspur, and Eleanor Rowland, Director of Safeguarding and Inclusion at Fulham FC, who discussed the work the clubs have been doing since signing up to the Charter and the sport’s wider culture.
The second panel discussion, focused on younger voices in the VAWG conversation, included Jake Saunders, Head of School and Youth Settings at Tender, Kai Bibi, Youth Participation Lead for the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit and George Bagan, Business Crime Reduction Officer at Safer Business Network.
With presentations from the likes of Claire Waxman OBE, Independant Victims’ Commissioner for London, Eren Bessim, Training and Development Manager of Safer Business Network, and Mark Balaam, CEO and founder of safeguarding platform, imabi, the event brought together a wide range of voices and perspectives.
Commenting on the significance of the summit, Amy Lamé said: “It brings everyone together, signatories and, for the first time today, non-signatories, to try and inspire them to sign up to the charter. Being in a room full of people – men and women – who are dedicated to ending violence against women and girls is very, very powerful.”
Anthea Sully of White Ribbon, also commenting at the event, said: “It’s so important to bring expertise together from different areas. So often we don’t hear from different aspects of good practice. To bring together specialists in the area, and also the voices of victims as well, it’s a really important dynamic that enables us to all work together towards change.”
Fellow attendee, Mark Balaam, CEO of safeguarding platform imabi which was the headline sponsor for the event, said: “We’re here today to create safer communities within schools, businesses and the workplace and we’re really trying to help tackle violence against women and girls – wherever it happens to occur. Events like this, that put different perspectives together in one room, helps to ensure we all work collectively to tackle an issue that’s endemic in our society.”
Along with its lineup of expert voices, the summit also marked the launch of imabi Guardian, a dedicated safeguarding app specifically targeted at reducing incidents of VAWG. The app empowers individuals to report unwanted and inappropriate behaviours, while providing access to crucial guidance and support from leading charities and organisations, as well as access to geolocation services and real-time updates.
