Hearing the Victims’ Voice report welcomed
The Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime supported this valuable research from the Victims’ Commissioner and the report makes clear the effects of online offending with robust recommendations for improvement.
1st June 2022
Today’s release of The Impact of Online Abuse: Hearing the Victims’ Voice report has been welcomed by the Mayor of West Yorkshire and the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime.
Alison Lowe OBE, Deputy for Policing and Crime, said: “The Mayor and I supported this valuable research from the Victims’ Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, and the report makes clear the effects of online offending with robust recommendations for improvement. These will now be sent on to inform the government’s Online Safety Bill.
“A key finding of the research is that women are more likely to experience online abuse, and that the abuse often stems from friends or acquaintances.
“This aligns to the key mayoral pledge around safety for women and girls which is a cross-cutting theme in the Police and Crime Plan. A West Yorkshire Safety of Women and Girls Strategy is also being developed and the learning from this report will be included.
“The report outlines important recommendations for internet service providers, the police and the Government. We will be raising these points with West Yorkshire Police to ensure opportunities for improvement are taken on-board as well as using our national profiles to encourage change.
“We specifically agree that more resources are needed to support the greater need for specialist victims services in this area, and that includes additional training on technical skills for support workers.
“Here in West Yorkshire, we have plans to expand our commissioning of these much-needed services. However, the level of funding allocated by the Government and the in-year spend requirements do limit our approach, something we have and will continue to raise.
“We also agree that due to the widespread nature of harm caused online against women and girls, the Online Safety Bill should include a specific reference to a code of practice on online VAWG. This would enable Ofcom to pick up the reins of the code, which was already created by the coalition of VAWG organisations, and make it a reality.”