Women's Safety

During the recent Women’s Listening event, held in November, we heard from the Women of GC about several topics that concerned them, including women’s personal safety.

Given the dark evenings and a number of high-profile murders which have featured on the news, we thought it would be useful to send out a communication to all employees on this important topic to continue to raise awareness (to all genders) on how we can help each other feel supported and as safe as possible.

So, what are the latest Office of National Statistics, 2021 facts on feeling safe?

Around half of women (41%) feel unsafe walking alone after dark, whether it is in a busy public space or in a quiet street near their home.
One in five men (19%) said they felt unsafe when walking alone in a busy public area after dark. This falls to 15% among men walking alone on a quiet street near where they live.
Four out of five women (81%) and 39% of men felt unsafe walking alone in the dark in parks or other open spaces.
Disabled people felt less safe walking alone in all settings, whilst those who had experienced harassment in the last year were more likely to feel unsafe.
Around a third (32%) of women and 19% of men reported they had experienced at least one form of harassment in the past 12 months.

There were some clear findings from this ONS survey: men and women both feel less safe after dark, but the extent to which women feel unsafe is significantly greater. Disabled people, too, are more likely to feel unsafe, even in the daytime in busy public places.

What can men do to help women feel safer in public?

There's a lot that men can do to help ease the burden women feel when they're out and about.

Click here for some tips for men who genuinely want women to feel safe, who may not realise they're inadvertently making women feel unsafe, and who understandably need some guidance on what actually helps.

What can everyone do to feel safer?

Click here to read some actions you can take to keep yourself safe, especially over winter.

Travelling to/from evening work events

During the listening event, concerns in relation to using public transport when travelling home from work related events out of the standard hours of work and late in the evening were raised. As a reminder, the Travel and Expenses Policy clarifies that as a general principle, travel by taxi will not be reimbursed. However, there will be occasions where taxi travel is appropriate which includes where public transport is not available, in unfamiliar locations or for safety purposes. If you have concerns about your safety with travel to/from any work-related locations, then please speak to your line manager in advance so that you can discuss what safety measures could be put in place to make you feel more comfortable and safer.

Reminder of the additional support available:

‘Hollie Guard App’ is free to use. It immediately notifies your chosen contacts if you feel that you’re in danger, pinpointing your location and sending audio and video evidence directly to their mobile phones. This app is now automatically included as a standard app in all GC work mobile phones to utilise.
Our Employee Assistance Programme – call for free confidential advice on 0800 030 5182 or visit the online health portal (username: Growth, password: Company)and download the new My Healthy Advantage app.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy
Victim Support Helpline – call 0808 168 9111.
National Domestic Abuse Helpline – freephone on 0808 2000 247.
Women’s aid – live chat and resources on their website.
Mankind – call on the helpline on 01823 334244 supports male victims of domestic abuse, though it helps all callers regardless of sex, race or sexual orientation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email; we hope you found it useful. If you have any further suggestions or comments to share or if you are interested in joining the Women’s Network, then please get in contact. We are currently reviewing a number of other suggestions that were shared during the Women’s Network Listening event, so will give a more detailed update on these in the new year.