Women's Safety Charter

The charter is linked to a women's safety campaign which aims to tackle behaviours that make women feel unsafe and encourages everyone to play their part in tackling women's safety.

You can view some aspects of the charter below, or you can download the full version here:

•  Basildon Women's Safety Charter (PDF, 8 MB)(opens new window)

The charter is supported by a short film that demonstrates the vital role our communities play in challenging harmful behaviours to stand against violence and abuse:

Women's Safety as a priority

Basildon Council and the Safer Basildon Partnership work hard to ensure the borough is a safe place for people to live, work, and visit.

Women's safety must be prioritised and, last year, we continued to focus efforts on tackling violence against women and girls following a successful bid to the Home Office Safer Streets fund.

We are dedicated to improving women's and girls' feelings and perceptions of safety in our town, as well as embedding positive cultural change within communities, organisations and businesses. Violence against women and girls is everyone's responsibility.

The real, lived experiences of women and girls have shaped the Basildon Borough Women's Safety Charter, with research conducted in partnership with Karen Whybro Consultants to gather the views and experiences of residents and those who work and visit the borough.

This research sadly indicated that safety is a concern for everyone, but women feel disproportionately at risk of experiencing harm in every walk of life, during the day as well as at night.

What part do you play?

Every individual can play their part in making our community safer. It is our responsibility to keep ourselves safe but also to help sustain a culture where safety is a protected right for all.

Research has highlighted that women do not feel safe on our streets, and we are calling on every member of our community to improve their experience through challenging current beliefs and behaviours, promoting women's issues, and offering a place of support for those who need it.

Whether you're a business owner, manager of a team, community leader or member of any organisation in Basildon, you have a role to play in ensuring our borough is a safe and welcoming place. Being an advocate for women means ensuring an ethos is upheld that is committed to prioritising their safety.

Organisations signing up to the Charter will allocate a member of staff who leads on its aims but every person in that organisation must also be committed to being active guardians of the culture that centres women's experiences.

Every business or organisation who signs up to the Women's Safety Charter will benefit from a range of support to positively impact your space and the experience of everyone using it.

We will provide training for your team, guidance, support and a bank of resources for you to use to help create and sustain a positive culture for women throughout your space and your team. We will train your team on how to create a safe space for women, how to introduce and implement gender equality policies and practices and embed positive culture to ensure the Charter is effective in the long term.

The pledge and how to sign up

Being part of Basildon's Women's Safety Charter requires a commitment from each business or organisation to make a pledge.

The pledge forms the actions an organisation must take to be considered a "Safe Space". This involves committing to staff culture training, considering physical changes to your space and utilising our bank of resources to ensure your intentions towards making a safe space for women is prominent and clear.

Organisations are required to make 5 pledges as follows, to verify their space as safe for women:

• Allocate a nominated Charter Lead
• Train staff members to become 'custodians of culture'
• Clearly display media which sets expectations of behaviour, both physically and online
• Signpost people who require support to the best source of help
• Consider making changes to physical space to promote safety

Local businesses that wish to be a part of this important scheme should contact communitysafety@basildon.gov.uk

Participating businesses

• Changing Pathways
• Debut Academy
• Club Kingswood
• Probation
• Human Kind Café
• Basildon Borough Council
• Hollywood Bowl
• Beehive/The Loft
• The Noak Bridge
• The Blue Boar

A further five organisations have signed up to the charter and are currently undergoing training before being officially registered as a designated safe space.