A SENIOR States police officer has called on women to report ‘any behaviour that makes them uncomfortable’, saying that many cases of sexual harassment and assault may be going under the radar.
Over the past five years, 3,545 violence against women and girls crimes have been recorded – a categorisation which includes sexual offences, harassment, serious violence and malicious communication – but this may be the tip of the iceberg, according to Detective Superintendent Alison Fossey.
Of these recorded crimes, less than a fifth have resulted in charges, and only 15% have proceeded to court.
Commenting on the statistics, Det Supt Fossey said: ‘There’s always room for improvement. But in comparison with the UK, those numbers probably stack up quite well. But that’s probably not a great benchmark given what we know is going on in the UK at the moment. We are always going to strive to improve on those figures.’
Snow Hill car park and the area surrounding it was highlighted as a hotspot for sexual harassment and abuse in research carried out by the recently formed Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce.
But according to Det Supt Fossey, of the 18,000 to 20,000 calls received by the police every year, only 73 related to Snow Hill last year.
She said: ‘[People’s perceptions] matter, but they certainly don’t tally with the calls for services that we get.
‘There is obviously a lot of stuff going on out there that is fuelling these perceptions that women are feeling unsafe but that’s not translating into what they’re telling the police.
‘They should be informing the police, because I’m sure a lot of it will be crimes and they are just not being reported to us.
‘When they are reported, that helps us and gives us an accurate picture. There are a lot of VAWG offences being committed, a lot more than we’re aware of.’
Several Islanders spoke to the JEP recently about feeling unsafe at night. One person wrote: ‘The problem is walking home after a night out. As fewer people are around, more people get brave.
‘They shout crude things at you as they walk past, follow by the side of you and try to ask for a number (typically with these ones if you don’t respond they will say something horrible and then walk off) and the most fearful is them saying nothing while following tightly behind you.’
Det Supt Fossey said: ‘I think if anyone is subjected to any behaviour that makes them uncomfortable and they’re not happy with, then they should inform the police.’
See tomorrow’s edition for part two in the JEP’s series on women’s safety.
