Issue - meetings

The Committee considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Safe City requesting that, as part of the 12 week consultation process, the Committee consider the attached draft Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy and provide feedback to inform the final version to be considered by Cabinet.

Councillor Renyard – Cabinet Member for Safe City, Mary D’Arcy – Executive Director for Communities, Culture and Homes, Jason Murphy – Stronger Communities Manager, Caroline Bate – Domestic Abuse Co-ordinator and representatives from Yellow Door (a Southampton Based charity that works with people who have experienced sexual and / or domestic abuse) were present and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

A number of issues were raised and discussed including:

·  the importance of education in both preventing and addressing issues related to domestic and sexual violence;

·  the need for action from numerous stakeholders across Southampton;

·  the importance of ensuring that the strategy is responsive and reflective to the needs within the City; and

·  the importance of the use of a wide range of data sources thereby reducing reliance on police statistics. 

RESOLVED that the Committee requested that the Cabinet Member takes into consideration the issues raised at the meeting when developing the final version of the report and that the final draft is circulated to the Committee.