Jessica Couchman
According to official statistics and new data from the Office for National Statistics, it was revealed that Nottinghamshire was named the 18th most dangerous place to live in the UK.
Whilst local residents have made it apparent that this figure came as a surprise, it appears that this news does not come as a shock to students. It is interesting that general crime statistics from Nottinghamshire police show a decline in crime, raising the question as to whether the statistics are plausible in echoing the true feelings of those living within Nottinghamshire.
Surprised residents said they “have never experienced crime”
It appears that this feeling of safety in the city fluctuates between students and local residents. Whilst some surprised residents said they “have never experienced crime“, I am sure if asked, many students can recall the rise in nightclub spiking, which acted as a catalyst for the widely popular idea adopted by many universities: ‘girls night in’, where females would, in a boycott way, go out on a designated date in the hopes of change the security and general safety for women not only on nights out but as a broader social issue needing to be vocalised.
“shout out to a passer-by, run into a house or wave a bus down”
The importance of women’s safety has been a prevalent topic and arguably exacerbated by the case of Sarah Everard which further tarnished women’s feelings towards being alone, especially at night. This case was met with a wide range of criticism following the police giving the advice to women to flag down a bus or wear shoes they felt comfortable running in when feeling in threat. Met Police told women to “shout out to a passer-by, run into a house or wave a bus down” if they feel unsafe around another police officer. The even more interesting thing about this was that this response and so-called advice was broadcasted to the public via a male police officer, therefore, sparking even further criticism on the matter, ultimately fuelling the need to address the fears women feel when alone in public.
Channelling the idea that men and women should join forces in order to break down this social threat of women being vulnerable when travelling alone can also happen here in Nottingham. It was interesting that when women’s safety first sparked a debate, nightclubs were quick to jump on the trend and tell the public they were putting precautions in place to make it safer going out, for example, Nottingham followed after the needle spiking incidents in the city. However, many of these precautions have not been followed through.
Nottingham being named the 18th most dangerous place to live can cause these discussions to take place further
It is evidently clear that the topic of women’s safety leads to discussion points and hopefully, Nottingham being named the 18th most dangerous place to live can cause these discussions to take place further and ensure all young people, not just females, feel safe when out either alone or not and that there are clear measures in place to reinforce this message.
Jessica Couchman
Featured image courtesy of Debora Carvalho on Pexels. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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