FOLLOWING the horror of the Sarah Everard murder, the government issued a pot of funding worth £5million to local authorities up and down the country to help improve the safety of women and girls at night.
Of the Safety of Women at Night (SWAN) fund, Cumbria's OPCC received a grant funding of £116,925.
Of that sum, £114,096.01 was spent, with an extra £2,828.99 remaining unclaimed.
The funding has helped various projects get on their feet such as The Welfare Hub, which operates as a visible safe space available to be used by those in need on a night out in Carlisle, currently based outside the railway station and is available on a Saturday night, all for a cost of £15,983.37.
The University of Cumbria was also commissioned to develop an educational production to be delivered into the secondary schools and via social media platforms and YouTube to educate young people about consent and sexually appropriate/inappropriate behaviour for the cost of £12,000.
£30,530.6 of the SWAN fund was spent on officer time, training, volunteer management and project management in line with keeping women safe.
A further £30,582.00 was issued to Carlisle City Council for the provision of street marshals and equipment.
Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, said: "The Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Fund provided the opportunity to help, support and prevent violence against women and girls in the night-time economy in the Carlisle area.
"The aim of the project was to improve understanding around the facts of consent, inappropriate sexual behaviour, the fears that affect women and girls on a daily basis and provide a safe place for everyone, especially women and girls, on Saturday nights in the city centre.
"The funding enabled various stakeholders such as the Constabulary’s Citizens in Policing team, University of Cumbria, Crimestoppers and colleges and schools in the Carlisle area, to all work together to achieve this aim.
"The Safety of Women at Night fund worked with projects such as developing a team of Safer Streets Volunteers from University of Cumbria to provide support to people and help prevent problems from escalating, allowing the police to focus on higher level incidents.
"Two paid Safer Streets Officers will also be in place later in 2022.
"Partners also worked with University of Cumbria to develop a production to be delivered by university students in secondary schools in the Carlisle area, and with Crimestoppers in a widespread campaign highlighting unwanted attention, sexual harassment, and inappropriate behaviour in the night-time economy.
'There is no short-term solution'
"Violence against women and girls is a societal issue and I am keen to raise awareness and educate the county on this matter.
"However, there is no short-term solution which is why we have used the fund to set up long-term projects that will hopefully help us reduce and prevent violence against women and girls in the future.
"The delivery of the fund has been a success and I look forward to future projects that reduce and prevent violence against women and girls across the county," he said.
READ MORE: Volunteers in Carlisle centre keep women safe on Saturday nights
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