HeForShe - Surrey Police continue to pledge support

Yesterday (Tuesday, 5 July), Surrey Police came together with police forces from across the UK for an event as part of the global gender equality campaign HeForShe.

Every UK police force is signed up to the UN Women’s initiative and are working together over the past five years to solve gender inequalities found within policing, and to combat domestic and sexual abuse in society.

The HeForShe movement seeks to engage people of all genders to stand in solidarity with women to create a united Force for gender equality.

Yesterday’s event – hosted by the National Crime Agency (NCA) at the Kia Oval Conference Centre, Kennington in London – was held to share good practice and refresh UK policing’s HeForShe commitments.

It also provided updates on three new commitments, agreed with the UN:

1. To address the gender imbalance in middle management teams within police forces, in particular the ranks of Sergeants and Inspectors.

2. To address and remove sexism and misogyny, where it exists, in police culture.

3. To support the annual reporting of gender equality information.

Carl Foulkes, Chief Constable for North Wales Police and HeForShe Policing UK Lead, said:

“A strong network of HeForShe allies has been created and three annual reports have been published so far, capturing the progress being made to solve gender inequalities found within policing.

“Over the past five years, great steps have been taken to increase the number of women joining as police officers, and in addition to this, we have seen growth in representation of women in senior roles.

“However, it is important that we do not lose focus. We need to ensure that the increased number of women who have joined have the right development opportunities to address the gap of women who are under-represented within middle and senior management posts.

“This is an exciting time for us to build on the progress made so far and accelerate change towards gender equality.”

Detective Chief Inspector Jak Bowers, Surrey Police representative, said: "This was a great event supported by policing colleagues from across the UK. There is no place for a culture that accepts or supports misogyny or everyday sexism. Men across our organisation can do so much to support the commitments of HeforShe by challenging negative behaviours and supporting female victims of violence. By pursuing those intent on causing women harm, we intend to build and maintain the trust and confidence of our colleagues and the public and support the #HeforShe movement."

Since its launch by UN Women in 2014, the HeForShe movement has engaged millions of men from around the world, including Heads of State, CEOs and global leaders in advancing women’s rights.