Women’s Safety: Walking, Wheeling, Cycling and Running Debate
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Alice Macdonald
Main Page: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)Department Debates - View all Alice Macdonald's debates with the HM Treasury
Women’s Safety: Walking, Wheeling, Cycling and Running
Alice Macdonald Excerpts(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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Jess Asato
I absolutely agree, and it is one of the reasons why I took those University of Manchester researchers to meet the Safeguarding Minister. I hope that, given the VAWG strategy is a living, breathing document across a 10-year period, we can make sure this is in future versions of the strategy. It is incredibly important.
The long-term programme of awareness, training and behaviour change at the heart of the strategy aims to drive a societal response that empowers victims and deters perpetrators. In the medium and long term, that will drive the change we wish to see.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent speech on this important subject. As well as reporting, I am sure she agrees that it is important to gather intel from women about where they do and do not feel safe. Will she, as a fellow East Anglia MP, welcome Norwich Cycling Campaign’s women’s safety audit? It has just been launched to hear from local women about their experiences, whether it be of harassment or of safe cycling routes. I encourage my constituents to take part. Does my hon. Friend recognise the value of such community-led initiatives?
Jess Asato
As a fellow East Anglia MP, I praise Norwich Cycling Campaign for its women’s safety audit. I am sure it is a model that many local areas should follow.
In the medium and long term, of course, we want to see real change. A poll conducted by the Cycle to Work Alliance in 2024 found that safety concerns deter 45% of potential cyclists from commuting by bike. Although this is obviously broader than harassment, there is certainly a gendered element to it given that women are three times more likely than men to fear cycling to work.