Hucknall: Nottinghamshire County Council offices to light up orange on Thursday against gender-based violence

County Hall, the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Council, will light up orange this Thursday (25 November) as a mark of respect to survivors of domestic abuse in Nottinghamshire.

This will take place on White Ribbon Day and at the start of the UN's 16-day campaign of activism against gender-based violence.

As part of the campaign, the County Council is focusing efforts on several initiatives to reduce violence against women and girls.

These include securing £1.1m for Safer Streets funding to make areas safer by improving street lighting and delivering safety awareness training to local communities; and investing £1.5m in Domestic Act funding to improve the support services for women fleeing domestic abuse.

Councillor Boyd Elliott, Chairman of Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee, said: "There are things we can do as men to help improve safety for women and girls. We can think about our own attitudes and challenge the behaviours that we see and hear.

"If we have boys, we can bring them up to respect women and girls as our equals. The main message is to not be a bystander. If you see something happening, do something about it – you could help make a difference."

Councillor Tracey Taylor, Chairman of Children and Young People's Committee, said: "When domestic abuse takes place, the ripple effect across the family can be devastating. Our providers do a fantastic job of supporting the whole family network, such as through teen support workers and the family court service. Our new Domestic Abuse Strategy will focus on children and young people as one of its priority areas."

The Nottinghamshire Domestic Abuse Strategy has been endorsed by Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee and will go to Policy Committee for approval before being shared with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in January.