TVP joins National HeForShe Conference

On Wednesday 22 April our HeForShe Tactical Lead, PC Liam Busby, joined police forces from across the UK at the annual HeForShe national conference in South Wales.

HeForShe is the United Nations (UN) Women’s global solidarity movement for gender equality. This encourages men around the world to make a commitment to stand in solidarity with women to be a bold, visible and united force for gender equality.

The conference, hosted at South Wales Police HQ in Bridgend, brought together the national policing HeForShe network to share best practice. As well as lots of thought-provoking discussions, ranging from the national uniform survey results through to VAWG peer support for officers and staff, Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan for South Wales Police and the UK Policing Lead for HeForShe, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) extending UK Policing’s support for HeForShe for a further five years.

Chief Constable Vaughan said: “I am very proud of how UK Policing has responded to the UN Women’s HeForShe movement over the last nine years, and it is important we continue this work. Officers and staff across the UK are driving forward change but we still have a long way to go. Renewing our relationship with UN Women ensures this activity continues and that there will be an ongoing focus on achieving gender equality in policing.”

UK Policing measures progress against three clear commitments, which have been refreshed as follows:

• Commitment One: To address the gender imbalances across the police workforce, aiming for a proportionate representation of women across every rank and grade.
• Commitment Two: To identify and address the gender inequalities that exist within police culture.
• Commitment Three: To support the annual reporting of gender equality information.

You can read the seventh Annual HeForShe Gender Equality Report to see how forces compare across the country.

Global Head of HeForShe for UN Women, Vesna Jaric, said: “UK Policing remains one of our most valued and steadfast partners. Since 2017, their leadership has demonstrated how institutional commitment, and accountability can drive meaningful change”.

Speaking about what this means for our people at Thames Valley Police and the local communities we serve, ACC Dennis Murray said: “Renewing our commitment to HeForShe reinforces our determination to build a workplace where equality, respect and inclusion are the norm, not the exception. This is fundamental to strengthening trust and confidence, both within our workforce and among the diverse communities we serve across the Thames Valley. By continuing to challenge inequality and support positive culture change, we ensure our people are better equipped to serve the public with fairness, legitimacy and integrity.”

Liam Busby went onto say: “The TVP HeForShe Network is passionate about our support for gender equity and the wider benefits of allyship for all. We recognise that empathy, compassion and kindness are virtues that should be modelled in all that we do and form the foundations of effective allsyhip.”

HeForShe is one of many support networks we have within the force, all of which work tirelessly to create a positive impact across the force and our communities.

Do you have what it takes to create a positive impact in your community? We have many roles available here at Thames Valley Police, to find out more and how you can make the difference within your community
visit our vacancies page.

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