Gloucester scheme gives women under threat a safe space

A community safety scheme for women who feel they are in danger has been extended to Gloucester.

Chrissie Lowery created Safe Space in Stroud last August following a spate of sex assaults on women in the town.

Now she has rolled it out to Gloucester in a bid to do more to tackle violence against women and girls.

Ms Lowery said the scheme involves a sticker on a shop's window to alert people that they can go there and ask for help.

Speaking to BBC Points West, she added: "They could ask for a lift, a phone call, a cup or tea or the police."

Ms Lowery, who owns Craftology in Stroud, created Safe Space after the series of attacks, which included two reports of rape.

Around this time, her own daughter Molly Phillips had a man follow her, leaving her "scared to go out of her home".

Police admitted at a community meeting they needed to do more to protect women after "a number of awful and frightening rapes, sexual assaults and inappropriate behaviours".

Chris Nelson, Gloucestershire's police and cime commissioner, attended the launch on Saturday and said that dealing with sexual violence against women was a "priority".

Despite this, he admitted that tackling the issue is unlikely to be a "quick fix".

"I think the more we talk about it," he added.

"The more we recognise it. The more men realise that they've got to do something about it. I think the world will be a better place."

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