Women’s Street Watch Newcastle
1949. Beth Dunn
Beth Dunn, from Newcastle, created ‘Women’s Street Watch Newcastle’, a volunteer women’s support group that is out in the city centre every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night to help women who might feel vulnerable or need accompanying to find friends, get a taxi or walk home.
Beth started the initiative in 2021 following national coverage of the deaths of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa to patrol city nightspots and provide additional protection for women who may be alone and feel vulnerable. The group is the first of its kind in the North East and has also expanded to Middlesborough. Volunteers for night patrols are provided with advice and training by South Tyneside charity ‘Bright Futures North East’. The group also fundraises to give out personal safety alarms and bottled water to women on nights out.
Beth said:
“As a co-founder of ‘Women’s Street Watch’, I’m honoured and excited to receive this award on behalf of us all. My partner and I started ‘Women’s Street Watch’ after the murder of Sarah Everard and through a shared desire to help women stay safe at night.
“Our volunteers and supporters have been paramount in helping to make the group such a success, and I’m so grateful that people believe in and have gotten behind this idea.
“We believe that groups like ours are vital, and we hope to expand into other cities and help as many people as we can, and feel this award helps to shine a light on such an important cause.”