Agenda item

Notice Of Motion Regarding "Making Sheffield Even Safer For All" - Given By Councillor Mary Lea And To Be Seconded By Councillor Sioned-Mair Richards

That this Council:-

 

(a)      acknowledges with sadness the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard who was walking home after a quiet evening out at a friend’s house in South London; this incident led to widespread anger among women, many of whom spoke out about their own experiences of harassment and abuse when simply going about their daily lives;

 

(b)      believes Sheffield to be one of the safest of the largest cities and that we want all our residents to feel safe going about their daily lives in our city and we want all women and girls to feel safe and protected in their own homes, exercising and playing in our green spaces and socialising in our city centre and local communities;

 

(c)      notes that the third round of bidding is now underway for the Government’s Safer Streets Fund, and that the bids are being asked to focus on safety and feelings of safety in public places, particularly for women and girls;

 

(d)      welcomes the work and petition of Our Bodies, Our Streets, a student-led campaign in Sheffield which aims to end street harassment and improve public safety for women and marginalised genders; Safer Parks After Dark, their current project, aims to ensure that public spaces are welcoming and safe from street harassment through demanding safety interventions and initiating dialogue about this in our local communities; and the campaign has had talks with council members and officers in Sheffield and also in Rotherham;

 

(e)      welcomes the detailed work that has been undertaken by the Campaign Group to identify current issues as well as potential solutions that could be developed and a call to action based on best practice identified from other areas in the UK and internationally;

 

(f)       resolves to consult and work with the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner, businesses, community, student and voluntary groups, both in the city and other local authorities, to prepare a bid for funding based around the proposals brought forward by Our Bodies, Our Streets, including:-

 

(i)       improve lighting in parks and other open spaces; and

 

(ii)       learn from any examples of best practice in other areas and countries which would improve and increase outdoor safety in this city; and

 

(g)      asks for a report to be brought forward which considers how local action can be taken, working across partners, to address the full range of ideas brought forward in Our Bodies, Our Streets’ call to action, setting out the city’s approach to safety in public places, noting the wider issues raised by the campaign including:-

 

(i)       greater work to tackle the root cause; systematic change is needed to tackle the culture of misogyny and public sexual harassment in the UK;

 

(ii)       ensuring genuine community consultation with women and marginalised gender groups is placed at the heart of decision making;

 

(iii)      learning from cities who have pioneered inclusive gender design; and

 

(iv)      greater recording of data around lived experience to generate evidence that can inform decision making.

 

 

Minutes:

4.1

RESOLVED: On the motion of the Lord Mayor (Councillor Gail Smith) and seconded by Councillor Tony Damms, that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.1, the order of business as published on the Council Summons be altered by (a) taking item 9 (Notice of Motion Regarding “Making Sheffield Even Safer For All”) as the next item of business and (b) moving item 6 (Notice of Motion Regarding “Putting Sheffield First”) to be taken after item 8 on the agenda.

 

 

4.2

It was moved by Councillor Mary Lea, and seconded by the Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Sioned-Mair Richards), that this Council:-

 

(a)      acknowledges with sadness the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard who was walking home after a quiet evening out at a friend’s house in South London; this incident led to widespread anger among women, many of whom spoke out about their own experiences of harassment and abuse when simply going about their daily lives;

 

(b)      believes Sheffield to be one of the safest of the largest cities and that we want all our residents to feel safe going about their daily lives in our city and we want all women and girls to feel safe and protected in their own homes, exercising and playing in our green spaces and socialising in our city centre and local communities;

 

(c)      notes that the third round of bidding is now underway for the Government’s Safer Streets Fund, and that the bids are being asked to focus on safety and feelings of safety in public places, particularly for women and girls;

 

(d)      welcomes the work and petition of Our Bodies, Our Streets, a student-led campaign in Sheffield which aims to end street harassment and improve public safety for women and marginalised genders; Safer Parks After Dark, their current project, aims to ensure that public spaces are welcoming and safe from street harassment through demanding safety interventions and initiating dialogue about this in our local communities; and the campaign has had talks with council members and officers in Sheffield and also in Rotherham;

 

(e)      welcomes the detailed work that has been undertaken by the Campaign Group to identify current issues as well as potential solutions that could be developed and a call to action based on best practice identified from other areas in the UK and internationally;

 

(f)       resolves to consult and work with the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner, businesses, community, student and voluntary groups, both in the city and other local authorities, to prepare a bid for funding based around the proposals brought forward by Our Bodies, Our Streets, including:-

 

(i)       improve lighting in parks and other open spaces; and

 

(ii)       learn from any examples of best practice in other areas and countries which would improve and increase outdoor safety in this city; and

 

(g)      asks for a report to be brought forward which considers how local action can be taken, working across partners, to address the full range of ideas brought forward in Our Bodies, Our Streets’ call to action, setting out the city’s approach to safety in public places, noting the wider issues raised by the campaign including:-

 

(i)       greater work to tackle the root cause; systematic change is needed to tackle the culture of misogyny and public sexual harassment in the UK;

 

(ii)       ensuring genuine community consultation with women and marginalised gender groups is placed at the heart of decision making;

 

(iii)      learning from cities who have pioneered inclusive gender design; and

 

(iv)      greater recording of data around lived experience to generate evidence that can inform decision making.

 

 

4.3

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Sophie Thornton, and seconded by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

 

 

 

1.       the insertion, in paragraph (b) of the words ", walking home from work or school" after the words "green spaces";

 

 

 

2.       the deletion of paragraph (f)(i) and the addition of a new paragraph (f)(i) as follows:-

 

 

 

(f)(i)    improve safety in streets, parks and open spaces through using research-led, inclusive design principles such as increasing navigation sight-lines and installing creative, warm and layered lighting, and by involving women and marginalised gender groups in the co-design process.

 

 

 

3.       the addition of a paragraph (h) as follows:-

 

 

 

(h)      recognises and welcomes that this is a call not just to deliver a safer environment, but to go about this in a fundamentally different way, using methods like those used by the Campaign Group such as the participatory mapping exercise, based on an understanding through engagement of the diverse intersectional lived experiences of women and marginalised genders and by involvement in the design process rather than consultation after the fact.

 

 

4.4

It was then moved by Councillor Kaltum Rivers, seconded by Councillor Martin Phipps, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

 

 

 

1.       the addition of new paragraphs (e) to (g) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraph (e) as a new paragraph (h):-

 

 

 

(e)      acknowledges that male violence and harassment must be addressed in Sheffield, and sadly that the majority of women have experienced harassment from men;

 

 

 

(f)       acknowledges Sheffield having a rising violence and sexual assault rate making up 30.70% of all crime reported in Sheffield;

 

 

 

(g)      acknowledges sexism and patriarchy lies at the root of gender inequality;

 

 

 

2.       the addition of new paragraphs (i) to (k) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (f) and (g) as new paragraphs (l) and (m):-

 

 

 

(i)       welcomes the ParkLight campaign and thanks all those who were involved with it, including students, university lecturers and staff, Our Bodies, Our Streets and The Star;

 

 

 

(j)       resolves to engage with charities and organisations who work to end male violence and harassment to address this in Sheffield, with the Council to lead the way in employee and Member training, as well as outreach to Sheffield organisations;

 

 

 

(k)      resolves to work with schools and other institutions within Sheffield to educate and train on Racism and Misogyny by:-

 

 

 

(A)      implementing the Council of Europe’s “Sexism: See it. Name it. Stop it.” campaign in Sheffield. https://www.coe.int/en/web/human-rights-channel/stop-sexism

 

 

 

(B)      implementing Race Equality training such as that provided by Race Equality First - https://raceequalityfirst.org/training/; and

 

 

 

(C)      implementing the recommendations of Sheffield’s Race and Equality Commission.

 

 

4.5

After contributions from six other Members, and following a right of reply from Councillor Mary Lea, the amendment moved by Councillor Sophie Thornton was put to the vote and was carried.

 

 

4.6

The amendment moved by Councillor Kaltum Rivers was then put to the vote and was also carried.

 

 

4.7

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

 

 

 

RESOLVED:  That this Council:-

 

 

 

(a)      acknowledges with sadness the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard who was walking home after a quiet evening out at a friend’s house in South London; this incident led to widespread anger among women, many of whom spoke out about their own experiences of harassment and abuse when simply going about their daily lives;

 

 

 

(b)      believes Sheffield to be one of the safest of the largest cities and that we want all our residents to feel safe going about their daily lives in our city and we want all women and girls to feel safe and protected in their own homes, exercising and playing in our green spaces, walking home from work or school and socialising in our city centre and local communities;

 

 

 

(c)      notes that the third round of bidding is now underway for the Government’s Safer Streets Fund, and that the bids are being asked to focus on safety and feelings of safety in public places, particularly for women and girls;

 

 

 

(d)      welcomes the work and petition of Our Bodies, Our Streets, a student-led campaign in Sheffield which aims to end street harassment and improve public safety for women and marginalised genders; Safer Parks After Dark, their current project, aims to ensure that public spaces are welcoming and safe from street harassment through demanding safety interventions and initiating dialogue about this in our local communities; and the campaign has had talks with council members and officers in Sheffield and also in Rotherham;

 

 

 

(e)      acknowledges that male violence and harassment must be addressed in Sheffield, and sadly that the majority of women have experienced harassment from men;

 

 

 

(f)       acknowledges Sheffield having a rising violence and sexual assault rate making up 30.70% of all crime reported in Sheffield;

 

 

 

(g)      acknowledges sexism and patriarchy lies at the root of gender inequality;

 

 

 

(h)      welcomes the detailed work that has been undertaken by the Campaign Group to identify current issues as well as potential solutions that could be developed and a call to action based on best practice identified from other areas in the UK and internationally;

 

 

 

(i)       welcomes the ParkLight campaign and thanks all those who were involved with it, including students, university lecturers and staff, Our Bodies, Our Streets and The Star;

 

 

 

(j)       resolves to engage with charities and organisations who work to end male violence and harassment to address this in Sheffield, with the Council to lead the way in employee and Member training, as well as outreach to Sheffield organisations;

 

 

 

(k)      resolves to work with schools and other institutions within Sheffield to educate and train on Racism and Misogyny, by:-

 

(i)             implementing the Council of Europe’s “Sexism: See it. Name it. Stop it.” campaign in Sheffield. https://www.coe.int/en/web/human-rights-channel/stop-sexism;

 

(ii)            implementing Race Equality training such as that provided by Race Equality First - https://raceequalityfirst.org/training/ ; and

 

(iii)      implementing the recommendations of Sheffield’s Race and Equality Commission;

 

 

 

(l)       resolves to consult and work with the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner, businesses, community, student and voluntary groups, both in the city and other local authorities, to prepare a bid for funding based around the proposals brought forward by Our Bodies, Our Streets, including:-

 

(i)       improve safety in streets, parks and open spaces through using research-led, inclusive design principles such as increasing navigation sight-lines and installing creative, warm and layered lighting, and by involving women and marginalised gender groups in the co-design process; and

 

(ii)       learn from any examples of best practice in other areas and countries which would improve and increase outdoor safety in this city;

 

 

 

(m)     asks for a report to be brought forward which considers how local action can be taken, working across partners, to address the full range of ideas brought forward in Our Bodies, Our Streets’ call to action, setting out the city’s approach to safety in public places, noting the wider issues raised by the campaign including:-

 

(i)       greater work to tackle the root cause; systematic change is needed to tackle the culture of misogyny and public sexual harassment in the UK;

 

(ii)       ensuring genuine community consultation with women and marginalised gender groups is placed at the heart of decision making;

 

(iii)      learning from cities who have pioneered inclusive gender design; and

 

(iv)      greater recording of data around lived experience to generate evidence that can inform decision making; and

 

 

 

(n)      recognises and welcomes that this is a call not just to deliver a safer environment, but to go about this in a fundamentally different way, using methods like those used by the Campaign Group such as the participatory mapping exercise, based on an understanding through engagement of the diverse intersectional lived experiences of women and marginalised genders and by involvement in the design process rather than consultation after the fact.