Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, Lisa Townsend, recently spoke on a Women’s Aid panel discussion about the importance of local collaboration.
The panel, which took place on Tuesday 28th February in Westminster, was part of the Women’s Aid Public Policy Conference. Both the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner attended the conference as part of their work on reducing violence against women and girls (VAWG).
The conference brought together key stakeholders from across the VAWG sector to drive forward Women’s Aid’s mission to create a safer world for women and girls. Topics of discussion throughout the day included policing, justice, digital safety, and misogyny, with an underlying and core focus on ending domestic abuse.
For the panel discussion, Lisa was joined by Lizzy Dobres of Women’s Aid, who chaired the session, Shabana Kausar of the Domestic Abuse Supported Specialist Housing Team of the Greater London Authority, Cathy Page from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Amtal Rana - CEO of Kiran Support Services, a specialist service for Asian Women.
The session focused on the introduction of the Domestic Abuse Act, which has brought in statutory obligations for local authorities, mandating them to provide safe accommodation services for those fleeing domestic abuse. Panellists spoke about the importance of collaboration between local authorities, commissioning teams and professionals working within support services as well as key stakeholders in the wider community. During the session, Lisa praised the work of her team as well as domestic abuse services and wider partners in Surrey for delivering a good, joined up support network for women in the county
Reflecting on the day, Lisa said: “Tackling violence against women and girls in Surrey has been a priority for me since day one as commissioner, and my commitment to women’s rights and safety began long before I was elected.
I am pleased that the Government shares this commitment and recognises the far reaching harm it causes. The introduction of legislation such as the Domestic Abuse Act helps us make further steps towards eradicating domestic abuse.
Commissioning services is a key part of my role and my office is committed to engaging with a range of stakeholders to take a holistic approach to most effectively tackle violence against women and girls in Surrey.
Policing can’t always provide all the answers to what are often complex problems. I am proud that in Surrey, my team engage with local authorities and stakeholders across the county to build capacity and ensure support is needs-led and easily accessible to those who need it.
Effective and genuine collaboration enables the sharing of information and strategies which is a vital part of providing the best support for women and girls across our county.
You can find out more about the work of Lisa and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner here.
To find out more about Women's Aid, visit their website.
