The ACS has joined the Women’s Night Safety Charter by the London Assembly and Mayor of London, which aims to make women feel safe and welcome in their local areas at night.
The creation of the charter was inspired by the Mayor’s Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and London’s commitment to the UN Women Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces global project.
Pledges and practical steps that businesses can take to assist women in feeling safer at night are included in the charter, such as: greeting anyone who comes into the store, keeping the store well lit and retaining helpline numbers.
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These steps have been integrated into a graphic by the ACS, pictured above, to remind retailers of ways to help people feel safer at night.
ACS chief executive, James Lowman, commented: “Around one third of convenience stores are open after 10pm when it is dark and the surrounding area is at its quietest which means people may feel more vulnerable. Through taking a few simple steps, local shops can contribute to helping women to feel safer at night.”
Joint chief executive officer of Safer Business Network, Rita King, said “We operate Business Crime Reduction Partnerships across eleven London Boroughs and have recently carried out a scoping exercise on behalf of the Greater London Authority and Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to re-engage with signatories of the Mayor of London’s Women’s Night Safety Charter.
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“We very much welcome this latest action spearheaded by the Association of Convenience Stores to support the Charter. Local shops play a vital role in their communities and are well placed to offer assistance to women who may be feeling vulnerable. We hope that many stores all over London will engage positively to help keep women safe at night.”
London based individual businesses can sign up for the charter online, however, local shops in all areas are being encouraged to consider these steps to make streets safer at night in their communities.
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