This newsletter is produced by Exeter’s Community Safety Partnership as part of the Government’s Safer Streets project.
Find out more and follow us on
• Twitter - SaferExeter
• Facebook - SaferCentralExeter
• LinkedIn - safer-exeter
• Instagram - saferexeter
A SAFE haven for anyone enjoying a night out in Exeter has opened in the heart of the city.
Exeter Safe Space has three main purposes - providing light medical treatment (cuts, sprains, recovery, blisters), welfare support (such as phone charging, water, safety alarms, bottle tops, change of clothes) and a safe warm place to wait for night buses.
It is open three nights a week Wednesday, Friday and Saturday –from 23:00 to 03:30am. It will not be open on Wednesdays during January
Located in St Stephens Church on High Street, right at the heart of Exeter’s bustling night scene, the Safe Space is funded by InExeter, the Community Safety Partnership and Safer Streets Fund 4.
Exeter Safe Space came from an idea by Mat Jarratt, Chair Best
Bar None, and Ann Hunter, InExeter BID Manager, a need further demonstrated by feedback from respondents to Exeter Community Safety Partnership’s survey in 2021, in which 86% of women said they did not feel safe in the city at night.
Creating this Safe Space became a key o ff er in the latest
successful bid to the Government’s Safer Streets Fund which brought £680,000 to the city.
The project, which is delivered under the umbrella of city’s Community Safety Partnership, Safer Exeter, will deliver a number of initiatives to reduce violence against women and girls and reduce antisocial behaviour
particularly in the evening and nighttime.
In the first month of operation 21 people received medical assessments, 25 people had their phones charged, 12 people were given clothing to keep warm and 125 bottles of water handed out.
Continued on page 3.
OVER the next few months our engagement team will be out and about in Exeter city centre asking businesses and organisations to sign up to Exeter’s Safety of Women at Night Charter.
This charter encourages venues to take practical steps together to make Exeter safer at night for women and girls.
It has been developed as part of Exeter’s commitment to keeping the city a safe place, where women feel confident and safe at night.
It is a voluntary pledge to prioritise the safety of women in Exeter, and to acknowledge it is the responsibility of all of us to take practical steps together to keep our city safe for everyone.
The charter unites organisations in developing a whole-city approach to reducing violence against women and girls and keeping them safe at night in Exeter.
The charter was devised after 86% of women taking part told us why they feel unsafe in the city as part of a survey carried out in Exeter. By signing the charter your organisation commits to making Exeter a safer place for women at night. Together, we can build a strong partnership, committed to making a positive change in our city.
Organisations that do sign up will be supported to achieve the seven pledges which are key to its success.
Each will receive a toolkit which
time revellers will be encouraged to use venues that display the SWaN charter poster like Turtle Bay
is packed full of ideas, prompts and signposts. These are practical steps towards change. Some will take time, but others can be achieved very quickly.
Safer Exeter will help those who sign up to deliver on that commitment by providing regular updates regarding awareness raising courses and training, signposting to specialist providers and guidance, including updates to the toolkit and sharing understanding and learning about ‘what works’ nationally.
We’re building a strong network dedicated to making a positive change to women’s and girls’ experiences of Exeter at night. Whatever an organization already does for Exeter at night, there will be something they can
do to better support the safety of women and girls. As more venues start to sign up to the charter we will start to promote the benefits of people using those premises when they are enjoying a night out.
It is just as important to us that venues see signing the charter as a positive way to attract people through their doors as it is for customers to see those venues as safe places to enjoy their nights out in the city.
If you don’t want to wait for our team to pay you a visit you can find out more here https:// exeter.gov.uk/clean-safe-city/ community-safety/safety-ofwomen-at-night-charter/aboutthe-swan-charter/
Continued from page 1.
“I feel privileged and emotional to help deliver this project for the city,” said Ann Hunter, from InExeter, who has led the delivery.
“We want everyone who comes to Exeter city centre to have a great, safe, enjoyable night out.”
“The Safe Space means anyone who needs support knows there is a safe, warm space where they will be welcome. Key to this project is continuous learning and building a sustainable service that is relevant to Exeter.
“I would like to thank Valuts, Unit 1, The Terrace and Guildhall Shopping Centre for gifting water and other aid to the Space.””
A volunteer programme will be launched in January for anyone who would like to support the Safe Space.
Mat Jarratt said: “The mission for Best Bar is to elevate the quality and safety of Exeter’s evening economy for both its guests and employees.
“The Safe Space is a significant step-up in caring for those who find themselves
vulnerable on an evening out.
“We look forward to supporting the continued development of the Safe Space.”
Jeanie Lynch, manager of CoLab Exeter Resilient Women Project and deputy chair of the CSP, said: “The safety of women in Exeter is a priority and it is great to see how people from different sectors have come together to deliver the Safe Space, something women who completed out survey last year asked for.
“The funding has galvanised us into achieving results based on the clear indicator the women of Exeter gave us in the survey.”
The Safe Space will work closely with partners such as Exeter Street Pastors, the police, Exeter Business Against Crime, Best Bar None, the LVA and others to deliver the service.
Find out more about Exeter Safe Space here: Website: https://www.exetersafespace.com (currently in build)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ exetersafespace
Email: info@exetersafespace.com
CAN you or your organisation help us make a difference for women and girls in Exeter?
Exe-Change the Norm is a free bystander intervention training to upskill you, your colleagues or your friends to prevent and respond to street harassment in our city.
Anyone can be an ‘active bystander’ and when people feel empowered to intervene as bystanders, it creates a positive culture that deters harmful behaviour.
Exe-Change the Norm can train people in your organisation to intervene skilfully in potentially harmful situations which they may encounter. Those who undertake the
training will learn how to spot potentially harmful situations and how to intervene. This will be delivered over 3x2 hour sessions.
Training will be delivered to groups of up to 20 people by two trainers - one male, one female (or non-binary).
The sessions will be participatory and practice-based
training with emphasis on practical examples.
The training is free and bookings can be made now between January 5 and March 31, 2023.
For businesses or organisations the training can be delivered at your own premises Find out more here by emailing bronwen@kindlinginterventions.com
Exeter City Centre’s modern CCTV network has benefitted greatly from Safer Street funding.
At the moment a further 32 cameras are being added to the network alongside other system upgrades to increase stability.
The new cameras will be sited in areas identified as hot spots where women and members of the LGBTQ+ feel unsafe and where crimes have been reported. These locations all suffer with high levels of crime or are key entry/exit paths into the city.
With a monthly footfall of over one million the significant benefits to preventing crime and promoting public safety of people in those public spaces is clear.
EACH year around 14,000 second and third year students are resident in Exeter.
The Guild of Students and the University already produces guidance on ‘being a good neighbour’ and how to integrate into the community, in the form of the ‘Student Community Guide.’
For many students this is the first time they have lived independently among people other than their families and the guidance stresses the importance of maintaining good relationships within their new
communities – particularly with new neighbours who may not be students themselves.
This includes advice on how to introduce themselves to neighbours and information about transport and what do with rubbish.
The funding from Safer Streets 4 means this guide can be developed into a campaign which will use social media and face to face engagement to spread messages to as many students as possible.
