‘We need law to stop sex pests on street’
SEXUAL harassment on the UK’s streets should be banned, a senior government adviser insisted yesterday.
Nimco Ali told ITV’s Good Morning Britain a new law was needed at this “watershed moment”.
She said: “I would want to see things like sexual harassment on the street being banned.
“Women and men in this country do not trust each other, and that is heartbreaking. But ultimately I also know that violence against women and girls is not inevitable, it can be prevented.”
Nimco, who advises ministers on combating sexual violence against women and girls added: “We have to be able to work with government and I do think this is a watershed moment, where the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and Justice Secretary are all listening.”
Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, told BBC Breakfast: “I fear for my wife, I fear for my sister, my mother going out on the streets.”
He said there needed to be a “zero tolerance” approach to the “very small minority” who harass women on the streets.
Their comments come after Downing Street said it was taking a series of “immediate steps” to improve security, including the nationwide rollout of a pilot programme dubbed Project Vigilant.
Plain clothes officers will attend areas around clubs and bars, along with increased police patrols as people leave at closing time.
It also wants to double the Safer Streets fund to £45million to improve street lighting and CCTV.