Zöe Franklin writes to Surrey Police & Crime Commissioner urging her to act on violence against women and girls

Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson for Guildford and Cranleigh Zöe Franklin has written to Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend urging her to use her position to lobby the Conservative Government to ensure that a proposed information campaign aimed at the perpetrators of violence against women and girls goes ahead as soon as possible.

Zöe's letter follows reports in the Sunday Observer last week that the campaign has been delayed and was unlikely to begin until 2022. She has also urged Ms Townsend to use her position to improve the outcomes for victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse across Surrey by ensuring that police staff receive training in understanding the impact of trauma on victims, including members of the trans community.

Commenting on her letter Zöe Franklin said:

"Violence against women and girls is a blight on our communities which needs to be addressed with real urgency. I was therefore very concerned to see reports in the Observer that Government's own proposals for an information campaign are delayed until after Christmas. The sad reality is that we've already seen the recorded number of domestic abuse cases increase over lockdown and we also know that violence against women and girls increases over the holiday period.

"Ms Townsend has previously stated that this issue is one that is very important to her and I am urging her to use her position to press the Government not to delay on their work tackling it. I have also asked her to commit to improving outcomes for women and girls in Surrey experiencing sexual violence and domestic abuse by ensuring police staff are fully aware of the impact of trauma on victims."

You can read the full text of the letter below:

Lisa Townsend
Surrey Police & Crime Commissioner
Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner
Mount Browne
Guildford
GU3 1YJ

9th November 2021

Dear Ms Townsend,

I am writing to you following reports in the Sunday Observer that the government's planned information campaign targeting perpetrators of violence against women will not be launched until next year. This is concerning and disappointing given that the original report that proposed the campaign was published in July and the Home Office at the time stated its commitment to the project and its importance. On the strength of this endorsement, I and no doubt the public too expected this project to move forward far faster than this.

Violence against women and girls is a deeply serious and pressing issue that has no place in our society. As the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, you will be aware of the sad reality that it has increased in prevalence as a result of Covid lockdowns and also that it frequently increases around the Christmas period. I am writing to urge you to use your role to lobby the Home Secretary and other Conservative colleagues in Government to act urgently and ensure that the planned information campaign does take place before Christmas.

In addition, I also ask you to use your position to improve the outcomes for victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse across Surrey by ensuring that police staff receive training in understanding the impact of trauma on victims, including members of the trans community. As you do so I hope that you will encourage your Government colleagues to act to bring in similar training across the country.

Thank you for your time on this and I hope to hear back from you shortly.

Yours sincerely,

Zöe Franklin
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Guildford & Cranleigh