Local businesses encouraging their male colleagues to become allies to women

By educating more people through the training, Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid wants to send a message that harassment and violence against women is no longer acceptable in society.

Training for local businesses has been co-ordinated by Newark and Sherwood District Council and took place at Caste House in Newark. District Council officers contacted businesses in the Pubwatch scheme and spoke to businesses in person to drum up interest.

Newark and Sherwood District Council is the first authority in the country to help support the delivery of the training to those in the community, which includes those who work in licensed spaces such as hospitality establishments, taxi drivers and many more.

District Council staff were also given training with 2 sessions catered for women and 2 for men. A total of 45 District Council staff have so far been on the training with more planned in the future.

Councillor David Lloyd, Leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “The training provided by Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid has been well received by both our male and female colleagues and we’re pleased that we’re able to look outward and get more members of our community involved.

“It’s an eye-opening experience that really shines a light on the challenges women sometimes face in their day-to-day lives. I encourage any employer in the district to get in touch with Women’s Aid and get your employees on the course.”

The training is funded by Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry and is part of the Community Safety Delivery Plan which is aimed at ensuring consistent high quality standards and supports initiatives through community safety.

Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry, said: “In tackling violence against women and girls, we want to encourage allyship which is precisely what this training sets out to do. We want all members of the community to identify and challenge harassment they may encounter. I want to thank the work of everyone at Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid, Communities Inc and Newark and Sherwood District Council for their work to deliver this training on the ground.”

Michael Henry, Strategic Director at Communities Inc, said: “We've had a lot of interest from a wide range of people from Newark and Sherwood and they've really engaged with the programme. “Changing the attitudes of men towards women is vital in keeping women safe. It's great to see such enthusiasm for the workshops.” 

Mandy Green, Head of Services for Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid Ltd, said: “Training enables us to explore our internal prejudices and open our minds, Nottinghamshire Women's Aid are proud to be part of the training around misogyny, working together to make the world a safer and better place for all!”

Interested in providing the training to your employees? Email admin@communitiesinc.org.uk to talk about further opportunities.

Channel 4 attended the first ever training session organised by a local authority which supported the delivery of the training to those in the community. They were at Newark and Sherwood District Council offices at Castle House in Newark to speak to trainers and hear from what attendees had to say. It will feature in their news programme on Saturday 9 April or Sunday 10 April.