Town's first female MP to host women's safety event

Bournemouth's first ever female MP is set to host an event focussed on women's safety in the town to mark International Women's Day.

Jessica Toale, Bournemouth West MP, will join a panel of local women for a discussion and walk through the town on Thursday.

Safety in the town's centre was a "huge concern" for women, Ms Toale said.

The event will see women share their experiences of the town centre and learn more about how they can better work together to improve safety.

Describing the current situation, Ms Toale said: "At best, women are having to change when and how they use the town centre and, at worst, they are avoiding it altogether."

The Labour MP, who was elected in 2024, said that although "statistically speaking, Bournemouth is one of the safer towns in the UK", she fully appreciated that it "does not always feel that way" for women.

Thursday's event will see women discuss their experiences, as well as "explore how design, culture, policing and public transport can work to make women feel safer", Ms Toale said.

"We have a great range of speakers and it's crucial that what we learn is fed back to national government, the council and town planner networks."

Among those on the "expert panel" are a town planner and local night-time economy co-ordinator.

The free event begins at 16:00 GMT at Patch in the town square.

Those attending are required to register ahead of the event.

International Women's Day takes place the day after the event, on Friday.

In December last year, hundreds of people took to the streets of Bournemouth as part of a campaign calling for safer streets for women, girls and LGBTQ+ people.

The annual Foxstrut event sees participants dress as foxes to represent the creatures' resilience and the ease with which it reclaims urban spaces.

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