Leeds

New Women’s Night Bus to offer safe space on nights out in Leeds

There will be phone chargers, taxis on speed dial, hot drinks and support for those needing to speak out.

Sophie Smith - 3rd March 2022

The new scheme will be piloted in Dortmund Square over the next three weekends.

The Women's Night Safe Space is a new scheme offering non-judgemental support, refuge and advice inside a stationary bus in Leeds city centre.

The initiative will offer mobile phone charging points, support calling a taxi, as well as ensuring a fresh supply of water, refreshments and warm drinks are readily available.

Hoping to be a place where women can come to if they feel concerned, unwell or vulnerable during a night out; this will be a safe place to report incidents to the police and wait for further assistance; or simply somewhere warm where women can wait for friends, so they are not alone.

The bus will be located on Dortmund Square on The Headrow. / Image: WikiCommons

Emily Turner, Women’s Lives Leeds project manager, has led the organisation of the Women’s Night Safe Space pilot. She says: “The Leeds Women’s Safety survey in May 2021 surveyed over 1,300 women of all ages, from all parts of the city.

”50% of the women we surveyed told us they often or always felt unsafe in the city centre at night. This pilot addresses the important issue of women feeling safe, as well as being safe, giving them a non-judgemental safe space to support their needs, be it make a report to the police, or simply a space to wait for friends if they become separated and worried.

“The main priorities that emerged from the survey were the need to tackle the attitudes and behaviour which underpin violence against women and girls; to make city environments safer; to increase reporting and improve responses.

Starting this Friday 4 March, the bus will run for the next three consecutive weekends from 9pm - 2am at Dortmund Square as part of the pilot scheme.

A female security officer from security firm Gough and Kelly will be on hand for the duration of the pilot to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people accessing the safe space and the staff and volunteers delivering it.

West Yorkshire Police will also be available if needed to respond to incidents reported by people who access the project.

Councillor Debra Coupar, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for resources with responsibility for Safer Leeds said:

“Every woman in Leeds should be able to visit our city and feel safe but we know that may not always be the case. Our aim is to tackle and prevent any issues before they arise and provide women with a safe, friendly and non-judgemental place to visit if they feel unsafe and we hope we can roll this pilot out more widely in the future.”

“This important pilot forms part of the city’s wider work in addressing violence against women and girls. Following the successful launch of the Ask for Angela campaign last year, we now want to expand on that work and create a safe place for women to go if they feel at risk while out and about in the city centre."

People are also still being urged to use the ‘Ask for Angela’ service if they feel unsafe in a bar, pub or club.

We hope this service is a great success and provides women a place to recharge and safely offload concerns and receive professional assistance when needed.

Feature Image- Unsplash