Sadiq Khan announces fresh investment to help vulnerable women, girls facing violence due to cost-of-living crisis

London mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday (9) announced a new investment to support women and girls, who have been affected by violence, access support during the cost-of-living crisis. The total investment is worth £4 million.

A cost-of-living fund worth £1 million was launched by the mayor to support vital VAWG (violence against women and girls) services immediately in response to organisations tackling VAWG in London and other parts of the country. According to the charities, the cost-of-living crisis is disproportionately hurting women and girls, preventing them from safely walking away from abusive relationships and situations, a press release from the mayor's office said.

London mayor Sadiq Khan speaks at a anti-harassment training meeting. (Picture: London mayor press office)

Besides, he also committed £3 million to continue his support for local grassroots and community bodies in the capital over the next two years. The funding will help minority Black organisations, those with disabilities, neuro-diverse, LGBT+, older people and women who lack direct access to public funds or for whom mainstream provision is not always appropriate or safely accessible.

The mayor’s renewed action to build a safer London for everyone comes as recent incidents across the UK have highlighted the growing epidemic of VAWG and the need for more to be done to help those most at risk.

The support package will help the poorest of women and groups in the capital and is part of Khan's public health approach to tackling VAWG and ensuring that the most vulnerable during the cost-of-living crisis have access to the help they require.

The funding is in addition to the £105million-investment the mayor has overseen in tackling VAWG since his election in 2016, which includes investing over £45million in specialist support for VAWG victims and survivors.

London mayor Sadiq Khan (sitting third from left) along with other participants at street harassment bystander training course to help tackle street harassment. (Picture: London mayor press office)

On Thursday, Sadiq joined Sophie Linden, deputy mayor for policing and crime, and other City Hall staff members in taking part in the L’Oréal Paris Stand Up Against Street Harassment bystander training course to help tackle street harassment, delivered by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

The 60-minute free training is available both in-person or virtually, and is open for everybody including all businesses.

Research by L’Oréal Paris and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust has revealed that 80 per cent of women in the UK have reported experiencing harassment in public spaces and nine out of 10 people surveyed in the UK have experienced some form of unwanted behaviour – such as staring, intimidatingly sitting or standing right by someone, and verbal abuse – on public transport in the past five years.

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, with the mayor’s Women’s Night Safety Charter which is funded by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), is also delivering a bystander training to businesses across the capital throughout February and March to help ensure a safe London for all women at night.

The training builds on the success of the mayor’s award-winning #HaveAWord campaign which was launched in March 2022 and encourages men of all ages to reflect on how they can play their part in tackling violence against women and girls. The campaign’s video – which is approaching its first anniversary – has been viewed over 15 million times and recent polling shows that 85 per cent of men who have viewed the video said they would call out misogynistic behaviour if they see it.

Khan's refreshed VAWG strategy places a stronger emphasis on working of partnership; prevention and education across a wide range of services in London; targeting the behaviour of those who perpetrate abuse; and building on the recognition that violence against women and girls often starts with words and that we all have a responsibility to challenge the behaviour that can lead to violence and women feeling unsafe.

“There is an epidemic of violence against women and girls across the UK which needs to be treated with the utmost urgency – not just by the police and partners, but our society as a whole," Khan said.

He added, “We know the cost of living crisis is disproportionately impacting women, particularly those whose lives are impacted by abuse and inequality, and the organisations that are supporting them. That’s why I’m proposing a new £4million investment that will help women and girls of all backgrounds to access the help and support they need.

"This action is part of my refreshed VAWG strategy which is championing a public health approach to ending the violence and misogyny too many women face on a daily basis and building a safer London for everyone.

“I would encourage everyone, particularly men, to take part in Suzy Lamplugh Trust’s excellent anti-harassment training and learn how you can be an active bystander and safely intervene if you see a woman being harassed in a public place.”

Suky Bhaker, CEO, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said, “Everyone has the right to be safe. But our research shows that a shocking number of people – disproportionately women – are experiencing harassment in public spaces. It is unacceptable. Stand Up Against Street Harassment bystander intervention training aims to address the prevalence of public harassment.

“Working with L’Oréal Paris through Stand Up, we aim to equip people with tools to tackle public harassment. Bystanders can play a critical role in supporting victims, helping them feel – and be – safer.”

Caroline O’Neill, general manager, L’Oréal Paris UK and Ireland, said, “At L’Oréal Paris, we believe that nothing should stand between a woman and her self-worth. Research shows that street harassment is a significant barrier in women's everyday life, impacting their self-worth, which is why we want to play a part in preventing it. Together, we can get the UK to Train Up to Stand Up, to drive cultural change and work towards a future without street harassment.”