A LIST of ways to make the transport network safer for women and girls has been published.
West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) chief executive Laura Shoaf and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) executive director Anne Shaw have outlined 13 recommendations on improving safety.
Last summer the pair were commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) to identify the best practice to tackle violence against women and girls on transport networks.
The pair worked alongside 200 stakeholders including charities, women’s safety advocates and transport experts.
The recommendations include encouraging women to work in the transport industry, a review of current safeguarding practices including standardising Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for all front-facing staff and making staff more visible on the network.
Laura said: “This fear of violence can be toxic, not just emotionally but also economically and socially because women and girls are often more reliant on public transport so anything that deters them from travelling can significantly reduce their life opportunities and ambitions.
“This is completely unacceptable.
“Women should feel able to take up work, training and education opportunities and connect with friends and family without feeling threatened.
“Anne and I are proud to have been chosen by Government as champions to make transport and public places safer for women.”
The recommendations were presented to Transport Minister Trudy Harrison on International Women’s Day on Tuesday (March 8), by the UK’s first Violence Against Women and Girls Transport Champions.
Ms Harrison said: “Far too often we hear stories of women and girls facing violence and harassment on public transport – this is unacceptable.
“Everyone should have the right to travel in confidence and without fear.
“We thank Anne and Laura for their recommendations and will work tirelessly across Whitehall and with our transport partners to drive these important changes.”
The report highlighted West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership and Merseytravel’s Travel Safe Partnership as examples of how local police, Transport Police and transport operators are working together to reduce crime across all networks.
