Women have been let down in London. There’s been a lot of talk about women’s safety, but frighteningly little action. It’s time we changed that. There’s no other way to say it: the situation is grim. Violence against women in our city has increased while trust in the police has plummeted.
The Met is in special measures for the first time, in part because of horrific scandals that saw a serving police officer exploit his position to murder Sarah Everard. So many of us feel that our concerns and fears would not be taken seriously by the police. Some actively fear the police, and I’m not surprised.
And yet we need to trust the police, now more than ever, when sexism and the harassment of women is rife across the city. Online misogyny is rearing its ugly head in London. Messages from the likes of Andrew Tate are finding their way onto our streets, into our homes and even our classrooms. Young boys in London are increasingly treating women like second-class citizens or objects, because that is what social media algorithms have fed them.
It is unacceptable to marginalise more than half of London’s population simply because they are women. This isn’t the London we know and love.
We can — and must — do better.
I wish the current mayor, Sadiq Khan, had taken more of an interest in this issue. But he has ignored Londoners for eight years and we should not expect that to change if he wins another four.
The scandals in the Met have been a worrying wake-up call. But it’s also a chance for the police to reset
I am listening to Londoners and bringing in a women’s safety plan. It will have two tasks: to fix policing and change attitudes. For months I have been meeting people from every corner of the city, and so many women have told me their safety is not given the priority it deserves. I will put this right.
Working with the Met Commissioner to provide better training and more resources to tackle crimes that particularly affect women — such as domestic abuse, sexual harassment and assaults, stalking and drink-spiking. We will ensure women lead the way on these overdue changes, with an approach that puts the needs of women first.
It has never been more important that the police handle these cases with the sensitivity and urgency they deserve. Too often women report a crime and are not taken seriously. So many women have been ignored, and then see no point in reporting crimes in future. It’s for all of us in public life, and across London, to strive for better.
I will insist that police officers spend more time out in the community, talking to Londoners and rebuilding the trust they have lost. We must have a greater police presence on our streets, to deter crime and demonstrate the positive work they do. It’s on them to restore confidence in officers.
And it’s vital that they do so. We must ensure every woman in London knows she has a safe place to turn.
For those seeking refuge from abusive situations, I will put more resources into support services and safe havens, so that survivors have a path to recovery.
It will take time for the police to earn back people’s trust. My £200 million investment in policing will give them the resources they need to accelerate that process. But policing is not enough on its own to keep women safe.
During my years on the Police and Crime Committee, experts have always told us that early interventions are vital if we want to prevent offending. That means winning the hearts and minds of young men. And that’s a battle that, right now, we are losing among some who have fallen into the toxic parts of the online “manosphere”.
I will give schools more resources to tackle the new forms of misogyny we see today and support public awareness campaigns on the issue. We should also have police officers help that teaching process with more school visits to discuss the consequences of sexism.
All these interventions must be evidence-based. Too often, City Hall has pushed out initiatives to tackle sexism that were more about promoting the Mayor than delivering change.
When I have asked women about whether Khan’s “mate” campaign has made a difference, I have been told that the poor execution of the campaign has, if anything, made things worse. I will set up a more robust measurement and evaluation process, so you can judge whether our interventions are working.
Listening to the voices of Londoners is at the heart of my campaign. What I have heard, loud and clear, is that too many women are left feeling unheard or unprotected.
The scandals in the Met Police have been a worrying wake-up call. But it’s also an opportunity — a chance for the police to reset, to listen, and to act.
We must seize this chance to make London a city where every woman feels safe, valued, and heard.
