10 Oct Women’s Safety Forum recap
In September 2023, it was a pleasure to host our quarterly Women’s Safety Forum in the Metro Building, Hammersmith. Thank you to our hosts, to those who attended, and to our speakers from Hammersmith & Fulham Council, Centre for London, City, University of London and Walksafe.
Hammersmith BID’s September 2023 Women’s Safety Forum was introduced by Councillor Patricia Quigley, Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham. Inclusion and equity are at the forefront of her agenda for the mayoral year and collaboration is considered a key pillar for ensuring the borough becomes more inclusive and safer for all.
Centre for London
Attendees then heard from Oriane Nermond and Millie Mitchel of Centre for London, London’s think tank seeking to resolve key challenges across the city. One of the challenges Centre for London is seeking to address through research, events and advocacy work, is how to make London’s parks safer for women and girls. Working together with Hammersmith BID, the London think-tank seeks to create a report with evidence-based recommendations to build momentum, engage with key stakeholders and ultimately create positive change.
City, University of London
Caroline Sipos and Dr Giulia Faggio, speakers from City, University of London, also discussed the importance of collaboration. They spoke about the importance of public engagement and knowledge exchange for academia, using examples of previous studies to demonstrate that little can be done to bring about positive policy changes without the voice of the public helping to inform data.
WalkSafe
We also had the pleasure of introducing Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at WalkSafe, Emma Kay. WalkSafe, the free personal safety app, has a new feature. It allows people to navigate their day –to-day lives according to whether they can find safe spaces; and which venues have Ask for Angela, WAVE or other safety-trained staff. This new feature will be launching in Hammersmith. Details to follow.
AOB
We also took the time to highlight Baby Loss Awareness Week from 9-15 October 2023. You can find more information about accessing workplace support on our Women’s Safety Forum webpage here, or by visiting the Baby Loss Awareness Week website directly.
Additional Information
We ended our Women’s Safety Forum with light refreshments and incorporated our key message around collaboration through the networking session.
We look forward to welcoming our levy-paying businesses to our next Women’s Safety Forum, which will be held in December 2023. If you wish to attend or to find out more, please reach out via email a.altenausmith@hammersmithbid.co.uk