By Joshua Robinson –
South Yorkshire Police is urging communities within South Yorkshire to take a stand against violence against women and girls, as the force launches its latest campaign – ‘Do More’.
The launch of the ‘Do More’ campaign follows on from the force’s ‘No More’ campaign, which launched in June last year and has now been awarded a top accolade in the NPCC’s Violence Against Women And Girls’ (VAWG) recognition event.
The campaign uses real-life stories of South Yorkshire women to tell people what behaviours women are tired of experiencing and why. The campaign has won a regional award in the ‘We Have Heard, And We Have Changed’ category ahead of a ceremony in London next month.
‘Do More’ is the next phase of the campaign, focused on raising awareness of everyday acts of microaggression towards women, and what people can do when they witness this:
“Call out your mate.”
“Ask if she’s alright.”
“Give her space.”
“Tell the staff.”
South Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Poolman said: “Sexual harassment has devastatingly become so engrained in our everyday lives that people often do not realise these acts are taking place. It is easy to shrug something off that we know isn’t quite right, but there is another way to address this.”
“We need both men and women to help, to become an upstander instead of a bystander, and to call out violence, harassment, intimidation, humiliation or misogyny for what it is. We know that if left unchallenged, these types of behaviour can escalate, that’s why we need to intervene at the earliest opportunity. Ask if the woman is alright, get help if needed, take some responsibility and do more.”
Assistant Chief Constable Poolman added: “If we all do more, we can help stop violence against women and girls.”
The force’s campaign shows that sexual harassment can happen in all places and calls for us all to do more to help stop violence against women and girls.
The campaign has once again been developed with input from the force’s Independent Advisory Group for VAWG, made up of those who have lived experience of VAWG or work in organisations that support women and girls who have experienced this type of violence.
View the campaign and find out more on the force’s VAWG website at www.nomore-standwithus.com.