Life in Torbay goes on beyond daylight hours. Many of us work, socialise and enjoy the town centre and harbourside at night. We know that being out at night can make many women anxious. This needs to change. We must strive to make Torbay a safer place for women by doing more to:
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prevent violence
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support victims
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pursue perpetrators
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change behaviours
We have developed The Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Charter. This is part of our commitment to keeping Torbay a safe place, where women can feel confident and safe at night.
The Charter is about taking practical steps together to make Torbay safer at night for women.
We are inviting businesses and organisations to make a pledge to prioritise the safety of women in Torbay. We need to acknowledge it is the responsibility of us all to take practical steps together. We want to keep our evening and nighttime economy areas safe for everyone.
We are starting the Charter in Torquay. The intention is to roll it out across Torbay over the coming months.
Visiting Torquay Town Centre – listening to your feedback
Torbay’s Community Safety Partnership is known as Safer Torbay. We spoke to residents, businesses and visitors across Torbay. We asked about how safe they feel visiting Torquay Town Centre at night. We asked about the reasons why they feel safe, or indeed unsafe.
- 45% stated that they felt fairly or very unsafe in Torquay Town Centre in the day. 35% said that they felt safe. At night, 79% of participants felt unsafe
- 91% of participants disclosed that they had experienced threatening and intimidating behaviour
The three most frequently given reasons for feeling unsafe in Torquay were:
- signs of drug use (85%)
- groups acting in an intimidating manner (76%)
- lack of Police/enforcement officers (72%)
The top three things that make people feel safe when visiting Torquay Town Centre are:
- avoiding particular areas (71%)
- seeing police officers/street marshals/enforcement officers (69%)
- walking with someone in a group (56%)
Of the 576 people who completed the survey, 59% of the respondents were female. Almost half were aged between 18-54.
Committing to the Charter
Everyone should feel empowered to play their part in creating positive change. We encourage businesses and organisations, particularly those below, to become a champion for women’s safety:
- licensed premises (e.g., pubs, bars or nightclubs)
- late night refreshment venues (e.g., restaurants, takeaways, etc)
- cultural venues (e.g., cinemas, music venues)
- hospitality venues
- educational establishments
- leisure facilities (e.g., sports and fitness clubs)
- accommodation providers
- statutory services (e.g., emergency services, Local Authority, healthcare)
- transport providers (e.g., bus, train, taxi services)
- retail outlets.
By signing up to the charter and embedding these commitments in your business you will play a huge part in improving the experience of women in Torbay at night; in both our town centres and harbourside areas.
You will need to re-commit to the charter annually.
The Seven Pledges
We ask all businesses and organisations who sign up to the Charter to commit to seven pledges:
- Change the conversation – keeping women safe is everyone’s responsibility. Encourage men in your organisation to think about what they can do to keep women safe.
- Champion – appoint an organisational champion who will drive change.
- Communicate – run positive public/staff facing communication, both online and in your spaces.
- Support your staff – create clear routes for reporting unacceptable behaviour while at work. Lead cultural change.
- Support the public – create clear routes for reporting unacceptable behaviour.
- Training: responding and recording –train staff on how to respond when an issue occurs. Include what to say and do and any relevant policies. Train staff on information sharing and appropriate recording of details.
- Designing for safety –audit your spaces. Adapt them to promote a safer environment and reduce risk of crime.
How to sign up to the Safety of Women at Night Charter
Once signed up, we will send you a resource pack. The pack will include:
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a copy of the Charter
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the supporting Toolkit and your Pledge
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posters and stickers for display at your premises
If you require alternative formats, please contact us at swantorbay@torbay.gov.uk.