Andrea Simon (End Violence Against Women Coalition) - Tackling Misogyny and Abuse in the Police and Beyond

Responding to serious public concern following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer, together with multiple other deeply disturbing incidents, Baroness Casey’s recent independent review of London’s Metropolitan Police has highlighted institutional misogyny, racism and homophobia in the force. The review found serious failings in the Met’s leadership, recruitment, vetting, training, culture and communications, and made widespread recommendations for restoring public trust.

In this episode, we talk to Andrea Simon, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), about their response to the ongoing revelations coming out of the Met and Britain’s police forces; what needs to be done to take forward efforts to prevent violence against women and girls in the UK at this critical moment; and the contribution men and boys can make to that.

The End Violence Against Women Coalition is a group of feminist organisations and experts across the UK, working to end violence against women and girls in all its forms. It’s made up of over 135 specialist women’s support services, researchers, activists, survivors and NGOs. Andrea has worked at EVAW since 2017, and before that she campaigned on issues such as child trafficking and modern slavery and spent more than a decade working for Members of Parliament.

Find out more about EVAW: http://evaw.org.uk

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/evawuk
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/endviolenceagainstwomen/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evawuk/
• Follow Andrea on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndreaSimon48

We cover the following topics in this episode: 

• The Casey Review of the culture and standards of behaviour within the Metropolitan Police, and responses to it (00:55 - 04:52)
• The gendered ways in which police resources are distributed (04:53-07:58)
• The extent to which reforming the police is possible (07:58-10:41)
• Seeking radical change whilst pushing for action in the here and now (10:41-13:05)
• Why prevention work is so important and what more needs to be done (13:05-16:57)
• The role of schools in prevention, and EVAW’s #AboutTime campaign (16:57-20:22)
• The contribution men and boys can make to ending violence against women (20:22-24:03)
• Tensions which can arise when working with men and boys (24:03-25:43)
• Shifts Andrea has observed during her time in the violence against women sector (25:43-30:03)
• What keeps Andrea motivated and hopeful in doing this work (30:03-32:26)
• Why an intersectional, anti-racist approach is so important (32:26-36:20)
• The impact of anti-immigration rhetoric on efforts to support victim-survivors (36:20-39:09)
• Backlash to gender equality from figures such as Andrew Tate (39:09-42:45)
• Tackling online abuse, and the UK’s Online Safety Bill (42:45-44:50)
• Bringing about political action (44:50-48:42)
• Why a feminist approach is so valuable (48:42-52:02)

Further resources:

• EVAW’s #AboutTime campaign: https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/campaign/abouttime/
• EVAW’s campaign against online abuse: https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/campaign/online-abuse/
• Louise Casey's Report: https://www.met.police.uk/police-forces/metropolitan-police/areas/about-us/about-the-met/bcr/baroness-casey-review/
• Anti-Racism in VAWG Working Group: https://www.endingracisminvawg.org
• UK Government ‘Enough’ campaign: https://enough.campaign.gov.uk
• A piece by Stephen, Sandy and Prof Nicole Westmarland for The Conversation from 2021, ‘Sarah Everard, police culture and the ‘masculinised’ workplaces we can all help change’: https://theconversation.com/sarah-everard-police-culture-and-the-masculinised-workplaces-we-can-all-help-change-169774
• The ‘Macpherson Report’ from The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry (1999): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-stephen-lawrence-inquiry
• ‘‘We could have saved Sarah,’ says victim of Wayne Couzens’s indecent exposure’ (Guardian, 6th Mar 2023) - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/06/we-could-have-saved-sarah-says-victim-of-wayne-couzens-indecent-exposure
• ‘‘Endemic’ sexism in Met police led to undercover deception, inquiry told’ (Guardian, 21st Feb 2023) - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/21/endemic-sexism-in-met-police-led-to-undercover-deception-inquiry-told
• ‘David Carrick: Serial rapist Met Police officer in prison at least 30 years’ (BBC, 7th Feb 2023) - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-64540800
• ‘Sex education review is ‘politically motivated’, say teaching unions’ (Guardian, 8th March 2023) - https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/mar/08/sex-education-review-is-politically-motivated-say-teaching-unions
• ‘Keir Starmer promises to halve violence against women as part of crime ‘mission’’ (Guardian, 23rd March 2023) - https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/23/keir-starmer-promises-to-halve-violence-against-women-as-part-of-labour-crime-mission  
• ‘Operation Soteria: a new approach to investigating rape’ (Guardian podcast, 24th Oct 2022) - https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2022/oct/24/operation-soteria-rape-conviction-rates-podcast

If you have been affected by sexual violence, information and support is available from Rape Crisis: https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help/

Contact the UK National Domestic Abuse Helpline: https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/