Meghan Field takes on key role in work of the VWAG Commission in Plymouth

A new strategic lead has joined Plymouth City Council, to help drive forward the recommendations from the Violence Against Women and Girls Commission across the city.

The Plymouth multi-agency Commission was established in January 2022 by Plymouth City Council following the tragic murder of Bobbi-Anne McLeod. Since the final report has been published organisations have been working hard across the city to shine a light on the issue and drive culture change, create safe spaces, ensure that women and girls in Plymouth are supported and empowered to report violence and abuse and get the support they need at the right time and in the right place.

One of the key recommendations from the Commission was that a new strategic lead be recruited to help drive forward this work.

Meghan Field joined the council last month and is passionate about combatting violence against women and girls. Throughout her 25 year career she has worked across the globe to support victims and design and deliver community responses to violence against women and girls in both the charity and public sectors.

She is also a certified Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) and managed a frontline IDVA service in West London for three years before taking on a range of roles including the VAWG Strategic Lead for central London, co-founder of the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance, and most recently the Director of Advance Women’s Charity in London.

Now in Plymouth, Meghan has been appointed to work in collaboration with the

Safer Plymouth partnership to ensure that violence against women and girls is kept high on the city’s agenda. She will be leading on:

• The development of a city wide blueprint/ action plan to address male violence and improve the local response to VAWG

• Ensuring that the city blueprint and commitment to tackling male violence against women and girls is embedded in the Plymouth Plan

• Developing a local repository for information, campaigns, policy, details of quality assured training courses and materials and best practice relating to VAWG

• Regularly monitoring and reporting on the delivery of the VAWG Commission recommendations and provide ongoing evaluation of their impact.

Meghan said: “Empowering women and girls, and combatting violence against women and girls. Could not be more important to me. My whole career has been dedicated to this in one way or another.

“Plymouth is trailblazing in its work so far.

I have been impressed with the work of the Commission to strive to do more. What is really clear is that to eliminate male violence against women and girls, one individual cannot do it alone. It is down to all of us. Working together to achieve one clear goal.

“I hope to be able to pull all the good work that is already being delivered in Plymouth together and help identify the gaps moving forward. I am excited about the journey ahead and look forward to making a difference to this great city.”

Councillor Rebecca Smith, Chair of the Violence Against Women and Girls Commission for Plymouth, said: “We are thrilled that Meghan has been able to join us. This is such an important role and getting the right person for the job was vital.

“Meghan’s vast experience in this field is second to none. She not only brings her personal dedication, but thanks to her impressive CV, she will also be able to share best practice. I look forward to working with her in the months ahead to really drive the Commission recommendations forward.” leave and family members aren’t always consistent with their love and care for us but according to the testimony of the Bible and the experience of many millions of Christians in the world today and throughout history, Jesus is a very real and every faithful support in all the various stages of our lives.

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