Hammersmith BID’s work in creating a town centre safe and accessible, night and day, for all women and girls continues this month with two free-to-all sessions aimed at local workers and businesses:
• Wednesday 18 May, 11am-12pm: Women’s Safety Forum, ‘Safety for women in business – what are employers
missing?’ (online event)
• Wednesday 25 May, 1-2pm: Anti-Harassment Training with The Suzy Lamplugh Trust (online event)
The Women’s Safety Forum was launched last year by the BID and provides a safe space for conversations, along with training and education sessions to help raise awareness and develop a collective voice to lobby for change to create a safer environment for those using our borough and town centres.
On 18 May, Hammersmith BID is looking forward to hearing from Laura Durrant, Managing Partner at Equitura, and award winning women’s rights advocate, campaigner and lawyer Deeba Syed. The session will cover:
• What safety means, and the impact a lack of safety can have
• The current evidence about the scale of the issues
• Employer responsibilities
• Using interactive case studies, exploring the issues businesses face
• Identifying best practice and where to go for further guidance and insights
A week later, on 25 May, a free, virtual lunchtime session on bystander training for all levy-paying businesses and their staff will help attendees build confidence and empower individuals with the skills to defuse situations and tackle street and public harassment when they witness it. The session is brought to the businesses of Hammersmith by the BID in partnership with The Suzy Lamplugh Trust and BID member L’Oréal Paris. L’Oréal are rolling out the Stand Up Against Street Harassment bystander intervention training programme across the UK with a goal to train 10,000 people a year through online and in-person workshops. It follows an IPSOS survey in 2021, which revealed 86% of people in the UK do not know what to do when they witness street harassment happening.
Livia Caruso, Hammersmith BID Public Realm Director, said: “Hammersmith BID is committed to creating a safe and accessible town centre for all visitors.”
BID Director Patricia Bench said:
“Our Women’s Safety Forum is bringing together stakeholders, employers and organisations to raise awareness of issues women and girls face and work to make our town centre safe for those living in, working in, visiting and travelling through.“I would encourage all BID members to engage in the forum sessions and also bring as many staff as possible along to the bystander training session on 25 May. The more people we can make aware, the sooner we reach our goal of making a truly safe town centre for all.”
If you are interested in attending the Women’s Safety Forum please register here, or for more information, please email info@hammersmithbid.co.uk
