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International Women's
Day sees launch of new group to tackle 'harmful practices'
A new group which will work to
prevent and tackle harmful practices on Merseyside was launched to mark
International Women's Day.
The Merseyside Tackling Harmful Practices Group has been created by the
coming together of 2 existing groups; FGM Liverpool Group and the
Merseyside Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence Steering Group
supported by the office of Merseyside's Police Commissioner.
Under the leadership of Chair Lisa Cooper and Co-Chair Afrah Qassim and
supported by the Commissioner Jane Kennedy, the group will work to raise
awareness and prevent traditional harmful practices such as Forced Marriage,
Honour Based Violence and Female Genital Mutilation in the region.
As part of their work, the multi agency group will work to raise the profile
of these important and sensitive issues both within the community and among
the organisations providing support services, making sure remain they in the
public spotlight and increasing and strengthening the support that is
available.
The group will also be on hand to act as an expert reference for
Merseyside based charities and community organisations that may encounter
these issues through their work, acting as a critical friend when help and
guidance is needed.
As part of their commitment, the group have set out their roles and
responsibilities, which includes developing and renewing the protocol around
Harmful Practices to ensure the best possible care becomes standardised
across the region, providing a forum for mutual learning among all agencies
and working to influence the regional and national policies and procedures
that are used when supporting victims of harmful practices.
The launch of the group came hours after members appointed the inaugural
chair Lisa Cooper, who is the Deputy Director Quality and Safeguarding
(Cheshire and Merseyside) and the Regional Lead for Safeguarding at NHS
England North.
Lisa said:- "On International Women's Day I was honoured to have been
nominated as Chair of Merseyside Harmful Practices Committee. Harmful
practices such as Female Genital Mutilation can have devastating effects of
women and girls and I therefore look forward to working in partnership with
all agencies and sectors to lead improvements in this complex and
challenging agenda."
Co-chair Afrah Qassim, who is Women, Children, Young People and Family Lead
at Liverpool Community Development Service and Co-Founder of charity Savera
said:- "I want thank the Commissioner for her hard work in
coordinating the process of the development of the Merseyside Harmful
practice group and everyone who nominated me to be the Co-Chair alongside
Lisa.
This is an exciting time and I can't wait to get the group started to
continue the development of this work across Merseyside."
Merseyside's Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy said:- "I'm delighted
that I have been able to work alongside a host of community safety partners
to support the creation of this really important group, which will lead the
way in supporting, advising and guiding the work that is done to tackle
harmful practices in our region and, crucially, support the victims.
Responding to cases of harmful practices requires great sensitivity and a
high level of specialist support. We know that there may only be 1 chance,
one window of opportunity, to speak to, and even save, a potential victim.
That means we need to get it right. If we don't, a victim or potential
victim, may walk out the door and, in the very worst cases, may never be
seen again.
By developing this group we are strengthening and increasing the support
that's available both to the victims and also to those who are on the
frontline of care, making sure they have the best possible advice and
guidance so they can act in the right way at the right time."
Among the priorities for the group are ensuring effective partnership
working across Merseyside; advising on processes and pathways and setting
minimum standards; improving early identification and prevention; providing
and reviewing safeguarding processes and pathways to improve access to
support; improving enforcement and prosecutions and making effective use of
research to inform practice. |
