THE WEST Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has been formally recognised for its work in tackling violence against women and girls.
The authority has been awarded White Ribbon accreditation for actively working to prevent harassment, abuse, and violence against women and girls.
To gain White Ribbon accreditation, an organisation must make a strategic commitment, appoint a senior leader as a White Ribbon Ambassador or Champion, and designate a lead contact to coordinate the development of a three-year action plan.
The recognition came as the UK marked White Ribbon Day (November 25), which is held each year to raise awareness of the need to prevent such violence as well as harassment and abuse.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the WMCA, has been working to create a safe and supportive environment for all public transport passengers, especially women and girls. Part of this has involved training its Transport Safety Officers (TSOs) to White Ribbon accreditation level.
TfWM employs 13 TSOs to provide reassurance while responding to incidents on the network.
Through the White Ribbon accredited training, all the TSOs are now White Ribbon Ambassadors (men) and Champions (women).
They also complete empathy virtual reality training to help male officers better understand women’s experiences on the transport network, as well as stalking and harassment awareness training provided by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.
West Midlands Mayor,Richard Parker, said: “Everyone has the right to feel safe, always. Violence against women and girls is utterly unacceptable, and we all have a duty to call it out and put an end to it.
“I’m committed to ensuring the West Midlands’ public transport is safe for all passengers, so I’m delighted that we’ve achieved White Ribbon UK accreditation. This will help to provide reassurance for women and girls who are travelling on our network that their safety will always be our number one priority.”
Michael Sandland, operations manager for TSOs and a White Ribbon Ambassador, said: “Our TSOs are not just a visible presence – they are advocates for change.
“This White Ribbon Day, we want more men to step forward, speak up, and challenge behaviours that make women and girls feel unsafe.
“Safety must be designed into every journey, and that means listening to women’s voices and embedding their experiences into how we plan and operate our transport network. Together, we can create a system where everyone feels safe, equal, and respected.”
The WMCA has also launched an awareness raising video resource entitled ‘What Could I Do?’ .
The video was created based on real life incidents reported to the Safer Travel Partnership and shows information on how to report issues and how to encourage passengers to safely intervene and support each other in difficult situations.
