Women’s safety walks connect women and girls to talk about safety in Tower Hamlets. Pic: Anesu Ngwenya
A series of safety walks have been hosted in the borough of Tower Hamlets to raise awareness around violence against women.
The walks were organised by the Tower Hamlets Council’s community safety team and police.
One such walk took place on October 9, starting at Langdon Park, and continuing through three DLR stations, the medical centre, and Chrisp Street Market.
East London Lines were there to report, and spoke to Farah Dadabhoy, a child sexual exploitation analyst who works with the council, about the purpose of the safety walks to bring more representation for local women who have suffered from violence.
Dadabhoy said: “In the world of violence against women and girls there is definitely huge underreporting. You have to realise what you’re asking people to report is sometimes the most traumatic experiences they’ve had; you’re potentially making someone relive that experience.”
According to a Crime Survey of England and Wales which was cited by Tower Hamlets Council, approximately 97% of Tower Hamlets residents that have faced interpersonal violence are women.
Josh Fish, a Community Safety Officer in E14 told East London Lines: “As a council, we want to deliver the things that are important to local people and the only way to find out what’s important to local people is to ask them”.
“We work very closely to help vulnerable people, that includes rough sleepers, class A drug users etc. These are people that might not ordinarily report violence, those are hidden statistics.”
The organisers also have stalls throughout the year where people can come and ask questions.
Fish told ELL: “The best way is to meet people, walk with them, discuss their lives and their experience of the environment and for us to go away and understand how we can improve the quality of life of the people who live, work and study in Tower Hamlets.”
Tower Hamlets is set to host another safety walk at Bethnal Green Gardens October 24, starting from 5pm.
