Skip to content
Search
Please enter at least 3 characters.

Latest Stories

Sadiq Khan announces fresh investment to help vulnerable women, girls facing violence due to cost-of-living crisis

There is an epidemic of violence against women and girls across the UK which needs to be treated with the utmost urgency – not just by the police and partners, but by the society as a whole, the mayor said.

Sadiq Khan announces fresh investment to help vulnerable women, girls facing violence due to cost-of-living crisis

London mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday (9) announced a new investment to support women and girls, who have been affected by violence, access support during the cost-of-living crisis. The total investment is worth £4 million.

A cost-of-living fund worth £1 million was launched by the mayor to support vital VAWG (violence against women and girls) services immediately in response to organisations tackling VAWG in London and other parts of the country. According to the charities, the cost-of-living crisis is disproportionately hurting women and girls, preventing them from safely walking away from abusive relationships and situations, a press release from the mayor's office said.


London mayor Sadiq Khan speaks at a anti-harassment training meeting.

London mayor Sadiq Khan speaks at a anti-harassment training meeting. (Picture: London mayor press office)

Besides, he also committed £3 million to continue his support for local grassroots and community bodies in the capital over the next two years. The funding will help minority Black organisations, those with disabilities, neuro-diverse, LGBT+, older people and women who lack direct access to public funds or for whom mainstream provision is not always appropriate or safely accessible.

The mayor’s renewed action to build a safer London for everyone comes as recent incidents across the UK have highlighted the growing epidemic of VAWG and the need for more to be done to help those most at risk.

The support package will help the poorest of women and groups in the capital and is part of Khan's public health approach to tackling VAWG and ensuring that the most vulnerable during the cost-of-living crisis have access to the help they require.

The funding is in addition to the £105million-investment the mayor has overseen in tackling VAWG since his election in 2016, which includes investing over £45million in specialist support for VAWG victims and survivors.

London mayor Sadiq Khan speaks at a anti-harassment training meeting. London mayor Sadiq Khan (sitting third from left) along with other participants at street harassment bystander training course to help tackle street harassment. (Picture: London mayor press office)

On Thursday, Sadiq joined Sophie Linden, deputy mayor for policing and crime, and other City Hall staff members in taking part in the L’Oréal Paris Stand Up Against Street Harassment bystander training course to help tackle street harassment, delivered by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

The 60-minute free training is available both in-person or virtually, and is open for everybody including all businesses.

Research by L’Oréal Paris and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust has revealed that 80 per cent of women in the UK have reported experiencing harassment in public spaces and nine out of 10 people surveyed in the UK have experienced some form of unwanted behaviour – such as staring, intimidatingly sitting or standing right by someone, and verbal abuse – on public transport in the past five years.

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, with the mayor’s Women’s Night Safety Charter which is funded by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), is also delivering a bystander training to businesses across the capital throughout February and March to help ensure a safe London for all women at night.

The training builds on the success of the mayor’s award-winning #HaveAWord campaign which was launched in March 2022 and encourages men of all ages to reflect on how they can play their part in tackling violence against women and girls. The campaign’s video – which is approaching its first anniversary – has been viewed over 15 million times and recent polling shows that 85 per cent of men who have viewed the video said they would call out misogynistic behaviour if they see it.

Khan's refreshed VAWG strategy places a stronger emphasis on working of partnership; prevention and education across a wide range of services in London; targeting the behaviour of those who perpetrate abuse; and building on the recognition that violence against women and girls often starts with words and that we all have a responsibility to challenge the behaviour that can lead to violence and women feeling unsafe.

“There is an epidemic of violence against women and girls across the UK which needs to be treated with the utmost urgency – not just by the police and partners, but our society as a whole," Khan said.

He added, “We know the cost of living crisis is disproportionately impacting women, particularly those whose lives are impacted by abuse and inequality, and the organisations that are supporting them. That’s why I’m proposing a new £4million investment that will help women and girls of all backgrounds to access the help and support they need.

"This action is part of my refreshed VAWG strategy which is championing a public health approach to ending the violence and misogyny too many women face on a daily basis and building a safer London for everyone.

“I would encourage everyone, particularly men, to take part in Suzy Lamplugh Trust’s excellent anti-harassment training and learn how you can be an active bystander and safely intervene if you see a woman being harassed in a public place.”

Suky Bhaker, CEO, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said, “Everyone has the right to be safe. But our research shows that a shocking number of people – disproportionately women – are experiencing harassment in public spaces. It is unacceptable. Stand Up Against Street Harassment bystander intervention training aims to address the prevalence of public harassment.

“Working with L’Oréal Paris through Stand Up, we aim to equip people with tools to tackle public harassment. Bystanders can play a critical role in supporting victims, helping them feel – and be – safer.”

Caroline O’Neill, general manager, L’Oréal Paris UK and Ireland, said, “At L’Oréal Paris, we believe that nothing should stand between a woman and her self-worth. Research shows that street harassment is a significant barrier in women's everyday life, impacting their self-worth, which is why we want to play a part in preventing it. Together, we can get the UK to Train Up to Stand Up, to drive cultural change and work towards a future without street harassment.”

More For You

JLR-Tata-Getty

JLR had initially planned to manufacture more than 70,000 electric vehicles at the facility. (Photo: Getty Images)

JLR halts plan to build EVs at Tata’s India plant: Report

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) has put on hold plans to manufacture electric vehicles at Tata Motors’ upcoming £775 million factory in southern India, according to a news report.

The decision was influenced by challenges in balancing price and quality for locally sourced EV components, three of the sources said. They added that slowing demand for electric vehicles was also a factor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

Sarju Khushal

Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

A MAN who supplied controlled drugs on a ‘wholesale’ scale across Leicestershire has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. Sarju Khushal, 30, was arrested in 2022 after investigations revealed he had been transporting drugs from Lancashire into the area.

Khushal, formerly of Hazeldene Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to several charges, including the supply and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He was sentenced at Leicester crown court last Thursday (6).

Keep ReadingShow less
Tamil Nadu Education

Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people

Getty images

Education or imposition? Tamil Nadu battles India government over Hindi in schools

A war of words has erupted between Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister MK Stalin and the federal government over the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends a three-language formula in schools, with two of the three being native to India. Stalin has voiced strong objections, claiming that the policy could lead to the imposition of Hindi, a northern Indian language, in non-Hindi-speaking states like Tamil Nadu. The issue has reignited old tensions between southern states and the central government over the privileging of Hindi.

Historical resistance to Hindi

Tamil Nadu has a deep-rooted history of opposing the promotion of Hindi, dating back to the 1960s. Protests broke out in the state when the federal government attempted to make Hindi the sole official language, leading to a compromise that allowed the continued use of English. Language in Tamil Nadu is not merely a means of communication but a powerful symbol of cultural identity. Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people. As a result, any perceived threat to its prominence is met with strong resistance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

Thangam Debbonaire

Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

FORMER Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire has taken her seat in the House of Lords after being awarded a life peerage last month.

The 58-year-old, who represented Bristol West for Labour from 2015 until July’s general election, wore the traditional scarlet robes during her introductory ceremony. She will now be known as Baroness Debbonaire of De Beauvoir Town in the London Borough of Hackney.

Keep ReadingShow less