Truro and Falmouth’s Member of Parliament Cherilyn Mackrory has welcomed the news that Cornwall Council has been awarded more than £33,000 of Government funding to help prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG).
The funding, which was awarded to Cornwall Council, follows a successful bid to the Government’s Safer Streets fund to support projects in the Falmouth area.
Falmouth and neighbouring Penryn have campuses for both Falmouth and Exeter universities, which support approximately 11,000 students in the area.
The area therefore has a disproportionately large number of young women aged 16-24, more than any other area in Cornwall and Falmouth and Penryn have higher rates of non-domestic crimes against women than the Cornwall average by around a third.
The Safer Streets grant will pay for the installation of six new CCTV cameras in Falmouth town centre. It will also be used to support a student-led VAWG group to run awareness campaigns or projects, as well as bystander training for staff employed in the night-time economy.
The projects will be delivered by Safer Falmouth on behalf of Cornwall’s community safety partnership, Safer Cornwall.
Cherilyn said:
“It is good to see this government funding from the Safer Streets Fund awarded for these measures in Falmouth, which will make a real positive difference in keeping our streets safe.”
“I also look forward to seeing the VAWG group set up to help raise further awareness around these important issues, as well as the vital work with local businesses in the night-time economy.”
“There is much more to do to end the disproportionate amount of violence and crime we see women and girls subjected to, and I will do all I can both in Parliament and locally to achieve this.”