Building Safer Communities: Fleet Street Quarter’s Initiatives During the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is a global call to end violence against women and girls (VAWG) and achieve justice and equality. This year, from 25 November to 10 December, Fleet Street Quarter worked with partners on a series of workshops and activations across the 16 Days to empower, educate and upskill local workers, managers and business owners.

We began our mission with a Women’s Safety Roundtable, attended by female leaders within the FSQ Community. Their feedback was clear – we must focus on localised efforts to improve women’s safety within the Quarter. Our top priorities going into the new year therefore must centre around police visibility, spiking (and changes to legislation), phone snatching and the importance of signage as we look toward 2025.

We also created opportunities for our community to draw focus on their own mental wellbeing as part of the 16 Days. We welcomed The Office Yoga Co to the Quarter to host a restful and meditative sound bath session. Across 60 minutes, the session was specifically designed to reduce stress, ease tension, and promote mental clarity to those who need it most during the winter months. We also wanted to offer the chance to gain practical skills, empowering self-defence through our women-only personal safety class, including grab and release techniques, as well as identifying common threats and how to recognise them fast. Attendees were provided with certificates and personal safety alarms to take-away.

In close succession to our strategic partnership with the Employers Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA), we partnered with all City BIDs to deliver an informative, emotive webinar held by EIDA focusing on raising awareness on corporate domestic abuse policy. The session was attended by more than 100 people and heard the powerful story of a domestic abuse survivor and their struggle to balance court proceedings and work. Companies can learn how making small changes to policy and creating better understanding within the workplace can have profound impact on employees, productivity and revenue.

To ensure that there are plenty of allies in our communities, we partnered with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust to deliver a Bystander Intervention Training webinar. We understand just how important it is to bring men into the conversation on violence against women and girls, and ensure they feel confident to intervene if they witness any form of harassment, in a safe manner. We are pleased to report that 41% were men, with 59% female in attendance, we received some fantastic feedback from the session, and FSQ will continue to support Suzy Lamplugh’s mission of reducing the risk and prevalence of abuse, aggression, and violence.

To round off the campaign we partnered with City of London Police, Safer Business Network, City of London Corporation and The Welcome People to provide a VAWG Awareness Hub outside Blackfriars Station. The stand engaged with members of the public about various City of London based safety initiatives that can safeguard women when socialising, working or living within the Square Mile, including Ask for Angela, Safe Havens and ‘Don’t Cross the Line’ – a campaign created in response to reports from young people and nighttime economy users that there has been a rise in misogynistic behaviours in the nighttime economy since the pandemic.

Over a busy lunchtime, we were able to engage with 97 members of the public and it was truly heartening to hear the positive feedback of people who supported, understood and championed the safety schemes that we were promoting. We also shared the important messaging of White Ribbon UK, speaking with men on how to be allies within our communities through prevention, challenging behaviours around rigid gender norms and masculinity that perpetuate violence before it starts.

In my opinion, you cannot beat this ground-level community engagement to create positive cultural change to prevent violence against women and girls. Supporting campaigns like the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence allow organisations like the Fleet Street Quarter to amplify critical messages, raise awareness, and foster meaningful dialogue within communities. Collaboration with local groups, stakeholders, and advocates ensures that efforts are both impactful and sustainable, creating safer and more inclusive environments for all.

Bethany Nash is the Safe and Secure Manager for the Fleet Street Quarter BID.