Police respond to Evening Post

Well, the last day or so has been a bit dramatic. Haven't had this kind of response before to the many posts I have written critiquing safety advice that emphasises women's behaviour over tackling perpetrators.

Still, good news to report. The police have responded to the Evening Post affirming their commitment to tackling male violence against women and girls, and challenging a victim blaming culture:

"The Bristol Post reported that he specified "women, in particular".

Although the Post concedes he did not use the word “women” in his safety advice, the Post understands the investigation team have not suspected men might be targeted by the alleged culprit or culprits.

Det Insp Gary Haskins said: "The personal safety advice which was given following this incident applied to both men and women and no reference was made to ‘women in particular’.

“General safety advice is offered by the police and other agencies to help people stay safe on nights out and raise awareness of not only personal safety but also how to protect your belongings.

“We agree strongly that the responsibility for a crime sits with the offender and always seek to prosecute, putting the victim first. However we also have a responsibility to provide safety advice to members of the public.""

Which is fantastic and really shows just how seriously Operation Bluestone take these issues.

In my previous two posts I wrote very clearly how Operation Bluestone have done really good work in tackling rape culture in Bristol. Their latest response supports this view.

I would also like to take this opportunity to clarify that at no point did I approach the Evening Post with my blogpost, and I was not contacted before they published it. I want to state this as I have been accused of a 'publicity stunt' etc. I had no idea that my blogpost would appear anywhere other than on this blog.

As I say, thank you Operation Bluestone for affirming your commitment to ending violence against women and girls, and to tackling victim blaming culture.