Council unveils measures to improve safety for women following Sarah Everard murder
Hedges in Somercotes and Ironville are set to be trimmed and street lights improved in a bid to protect women following the high-profile murder of Sarah Everard.
Amber Valley Council says the measures – which also include self-defence classes – are aimed at improving safety for all residents, not specifically women and girls.
Miss Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive from South London, was murdered in March by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens.
It sparked a national outcry with demands for more measures, including laws, to protect women and harsher punishments for offenders.
Debate has been reignited this week through the alleged murder of 28-year-old teacher Sabina Nessa, thought to have been killed while walking through a park on her way to meet a friend in south-east London.
In a Amber Valley Council meeting this week, Coun Sean Carter, a deputy cabinet member for community safety, said the authority had a ‘three-pronged’ plan to ‘protect women and girls’.
However, he said the plans were not specifically aimed at women, saying ‘it is not just about women’.
He said the council had plans to ‘cut back foliage’ and improve street lighting, particularly in the borough’s parks.
Coun Carter said part two of the plan was to set up an online portal through which women can raise concerns about abuse and harassment.
Part three of the plan, he said, was to set up self-defence workshops at the borough’s four leisure centres. He said this would include advice on how to identify gender-based violence.
Coun Fay Atkinson said: “There is more we can do and it should be a matter of priority.”