Project to tackle violence against women and young girls a success

An innovative project designed to tackle violence against women and young girls in North Trafford has proved to be a success.

The Right to the Streets, a Home Office-funded project, was launched in in September 2022 by Greater Manchester Moving, and was completed in September 2023.

The Home Office Safer Streets Fund awarded GreaterSport, with the support of Trafford Council, £490,448 to make the streets safer for women and girls through tackling gender-based violence and harassment.  Part of this funding was awarded to Stretford, Gorse Hill and Old Trafford community groups. The area was chosen after a number of assaults were recorded on women in 2021 along the Bridgewater canal.

Trafford Council and partners, including GreaterSport, Open Data Manchester, Diva Creative and MIC Media, launched a high-level media campaign to raise awareness of the issue and was successful in making a difference to the lives of young women threatened by violence.

There was an emphasis on speaking to those with lived experience of the issues and local communities were also heavily involved in the project with a total of 44 local events taking place throughout the summer.

Members of the Council’s Executive were told of the success of the project at its meeting on Monday, January 29.

Cllr Rose Thompson, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Communities and Safety said: “It is vitally important that women and young girls are safe and feel safe in their communities and we all have a role to ensure this is the case.

“The Right to the Streets project was launched in this part of Trafford to bring awareness to the issue and ensure that change was made. I am delighted to report that the project was a huge success which spearheaded changes through a fabulous media campaign and community involvement and intervention. Thank you so much to everyone involved in this fantastic project – we are extremely proud of what we have achieved.”