Dorset violence against women and girls summit to be held

A summit meeting is being held to urge leaders to bring an end to gender-based violence

Women's equality groups across Dorset are gathering to discuss how to tackle violence against women and girls.

A summit meeting is being held urging leaders in the field to bring an end to gender-based violence.

The event, hosted by Bournemouth University, comes after figures revealed Dorset to be the sixth safest place to live in the UK.

However, Dorset Police confirmed 82% of sexual assault crimes in the county are against women.

The force also released figures showing trans women and people who are non-binary or gender fluid are at risk due to a rise in hate crime.

Figures showed there were 247 sexual offences in Dorset in 2021 and 3,225 recorded domestic abuse incidents.

Organisations including Soroptimist International Bournemouth, Dorset Women CIC and charity Acts Fast have joined forces with Dorset Police and academics at the university to start finding solutions and attend the meeting.

'Working together'

In a joint statement, university lecturers Dr Orlanda Harvey and Dr Louise Oliver, said: "We are delighted so many professionals have shown willingness to engage in working together to seek ways to challenge the status quo and continue to seek solutions."

Marianne Storey, Chair of Dorset Women CIC added: "We cannot expect just the police or just the council to fix this problem alone. We need everyone working together to create a 'new normal' where violence against women is unacceptable.

"And so this summit is intended to start that process. Dorset has the opportunity to become the safest place in the country and this is the beginning of that ambition."

The summit meeting will be opened by police and crime commissioner, David Sidwick and features talks from expert speakers including Supt Emma Sweetzer, police lead for tackling violence against women and girls in Dorset, and Dr Kari Davies, whose research has focussed on the issue.

A university spokesperson confirmed a report would be published after the event.

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