The West Midlands’ first ever Victims’ Commissioner has been seeing first-hand how female visitors to Westside are kept safe while enjoying a night out.
Nicky Brennan, who was appointed to the role by Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster in June last year, immediately put protecting women and girls from male abuse and violence at the top of her agenda.
She met local police and members of Westside BID during a recent visit to the Broad Street area.
Councillor Brennan, who joined Birmingham City Council in 2018, said she had been talking to venues “up and down Broad Street about what they are doing to help vulnerable patrons” while enjoying an evening out in the city centre.
She added: “It has been great to hear from them about what they are doing around spiking, about protecting vulnerable patrons, and their policies around protecting women and girls while they are out enjoying themselves on Broad Street.”
Cllr Brennan, who was born in Birmingham, has spent most of her career in the charity sector, supporting women fleeing domestic abuse, including work for Birmingham & Solihull Women’s Aid.
Her late-night visit to Broad Street, which tool place with Simon Foster, the Police and Crime Commissioner, involved looking at the joint work by Westside BID, local police, street wardens, ambulance staff and the venues themselves to keep customers safe.
This included measures around the possible spiking of drinks and combatting potential violence against women.
Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID, who accompanied both the Victims’ Commissioner and the Police and Crime Commissioner on their visit, said: “The safety and welfare of visitors to the Broad Street area is our top priority, and we were pleased that Cllr Brennan took such an active interest.”
A mini video of Cllr Brennan talking about here visit can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/uD1Qybmx8PU
