Bournemouth’s first female MP Jessica Toale is bringing together partners for a collaborative International Women’s Day event in Bournemouth Town Centre focused on women’s safety.
Starting at PATCH in Bobby’s at 4pm on Thursday 6 March, the event will see women come together to share their experiences of the Town Centre and learn more about how we can better work together to improve women’s safety. The free event, which comes ahead of International Women’s Day, will include a group walk through the town with interactive discussion with the speakers, and will finish around 5.30pm back at PATCH.
Speakers include:
Jessica Toale MP – elected in July 2024 as Bournemouth’s first female, first Labour MP, Jessica’s Bournemouth West constituency includes the Town Centre. She is passionate about women’s rights, with a background in international development, and is currently working to bring together partners to create a shared town centre vision.
Veronica Barbaro (Design West) - an experienced town planner who was one of the speakers on the Design West panel ‘Invisible Women’ on gender-sensitive urban design, Veronica is currently working with The Gendered City on an international ‘Women After Dark’ survey to understand women’s experiences of mobility in cities after dark to inform future design recommendations.
Tina Symington (BCP Council) - Community Safety Manager for BCP Council and representative with the Community Safety Partnership (which also includes Dorset Police, NHS and others), Tina’s role includes taking action to reduce crime and disorder in the BCP area through initiatives, including those tackling male violence against women and girls.
Vicky Sheppard (Town Centre Business Improvement District) - appointed in September 2024, Vicky joined the BID as Night-time Economy Co-ordinator after working for 15 years with Bournemouth Town Centre’s Town Watch. Her role sees her engaging with bars, eateries and entertainment venues to improve collaboration and identify and tackle issues.
Rachel Young (Office of Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner) - Rachel PCC's office in April 2024 as Head of Violence Reduction and Prevention. Drawing on her previous voluntary/public sector work tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, Rachel's role is centred around building on well-established partnerships reducing serious violence across Dorset.
Jessica said: “Experiences of Bournemouth Town Centre vary widely, but what is clear is that for many women, safety is a huge concern. At best, women are having to change when and how they use the town centre and, at worst, they are avoiding it altogether. Statistically speaking, Bournemouth is one of the safer towns in the UK but I fully appreciate that it does not always feel that way, and I am keen to hear more from local women.
“This event for International Women’s Day is about bringing together women to hear individual experiences and share understanding. It is also a chance to explore how design, culture, policing and public transport can work to make women feel safer. 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.”
The event – which forms part of the MP’s wider focus on Bournemouth Town Centre - is free to attend, but spaces are limited so please register your interest below.
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