Guernsey Campaigner Talks Gender Equality With UK Police

A Guernsey woman is continuing to campaign for women's safety and equality by speaking at a national policing event.

BE LADS Campaign founder, Poppy Murray, has made history by being the first person outside a police force to speak at the UN HeForShe Police Ally event.

She presented her advice on reducing gendered violence to more than 70 officers from forces across the UK including the MET, Thames Valley, and Guernsey's Deputy Chief Police Officer, Ian Scholes.

Miss Murray says the response was overwhelmingly positive:

"I had a good inclination before I went there from the people organising it that everyone was already kind of on board because these officers are allies for women, but the whole point of the event was to give them something tangible, that they could take away to the community.

That’s why they reached out to me because they thought BE LADS would be a good example of something that officers get takeaway and be proactive on."

BE LADS is an acronym for:

Be visible, Ease tension, Look away and don't stare, Be Active bystanders, Distance yourself, Suggest walking your friends home.

She says campaigning for equality is crucial:

"Fundamentally we are completely the same, we all have families and goals. The fact that your gender, whatever that gender is, could hinder you from achieving anything is unacceptable, especially in this day and age.

This is not an impossible problem to solve. We just need to work together on it."

After her presentation, every attendee received an information pack about the BE LADS campaign.

City of London Police Public and Personal Safety Trainer, Garry Shuttleworth, says the event was a success:

“What an incredible event… with some amazing speakers for HeForShe. The highlight was listening to the compelling, extremely thought-provoking and passionate talk by Poppy Murray, who put across her presentation around BE LADS to a large group of police officers perfectly.

The fact you could see eyes watering from those in attendance showed what she was saying really hit home.

I would encourage and will [encourage] every man and boy to look her up and understand that it’s not all men but is all women. Hopefully, I will be able to push this message through to as many officers as we can at City of London Police.”