A leadership summit has been held in an effort to coordinate how violence against women and girls (VAWG) is tackled across the county.

Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden brought together senior leaders from across Lancashire - including police, councils and the NHS - to discuss the vital role they play in tackling VAWG.

The summit, which was held at Ribby Hall on Tuesday (December 6), allowed them to identify any gaps in service provision and to discuss how they can better work together to develop a consistent and proactive approach to combat VAWG and importantly create wrap-around support for victims across the county.

Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Andrew Snowden said: "As Police and Crime Commissioner, it was important to me to host this event to bring the police and our partners together to ensure we are maximising the strength of our existing partnerships to both prevent violence against women and girls and give victims the support they deserve.

"We all have important statutory roles to play in tackling VAWG, but we can't do it alone. I am making significant investments in co-ordinating VAWG activity across Lancashire, and I have established a new post within my office, Senior Policy and Partnerships Manager (Victims and Vulnerable People), to work across key-issues and stay up to date on related policies.

"I'm encouraged leaders have today publicly declared their organisations commitment to tackling VAWG and to work together to help shape strategic plans to ensure that national VAWG priorities translate into local action to keep women and girls safe across Lancashire.

"As I continue to lead the fight against crime, tackling domestic abuse and sexual violence remain priorities and I will work with the constabulary and our partners to bring perpetrators of these awful crimes to justice and to achieve better and faster outcomes for victims."

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Dawson said: “It’s a privilege to be able to speak at this event. 

"I have strategic responsibility for VAWG across Lancashire Police and over the last 12 months we have developed a comprehensive approach to this issue through work with both the national NPCC taskforce and a range of local partners.

“We have also built on the results of our VAWG survey which has given us a detailed understanding of how women and girls across Lancashire feel about their safety and where they live.

“We are now undertaking bespoke local engagement across our communities and working with our partners on safer streets bids and projects.

"This is enabling us to improve our preventative work, the quality of our investigations and, as a result, the service we provide to victims.

“Tackling domestic abuse and sexual violence is a strategic priority and we are absolutely committed to keeping women and girls across Lancashire safe. 

"During the last year we have set up dedicated teams to investigate rape and serious sexual offences and we are also adopting the recommendations from Op Soteria Bluestone – a national piece of work aimed at standardising and improving the outcomes for victims of rape and sexual assault.

"We are also determined to challenge and eradicate any misogynistic behaviour within our organisation and prevent the small minority of officers and staff who may seek to abuse their position so that we can command the confidence of women and girls across the county.”

The meeting comes as a new report, published earlier this week, found that the number of people murdered by a family member rose by more than half in the year to March 2022.

The second annual report by the Domestic Homicide Project also said that the number of suspected suicides among domestic violence victims rose by 28 per cent, or 14 deaths, in the same period compared with the previous 12 months.

It said that while homicide by an intimate partner was the most common scenario for domestic killings with 103 deaths in 2021/22, there was no significant rise in this crime type from the previous year.

But the number of people being killed by a family member rose by 55 per cent to 62 deaths.

Dr Lis Bates, lead author and reader in interpersonal violence at the University of Central Lancashire, said: “This report shows that, persistently, 100 people a year are dying at the hands of their intimate partners.

“Time and again we see that coercive and controlling behaviour is a core risk factor in these deaths – it is vital that police and partner agencies tackle this abuse effectively.

“This year we also saw an increase in adults murdered by a family member.

“A number of these victims were in caring relationships with the perpetrator, and many perpetrators had mental health issues.

“These deaths occur in different dynamics to intimate partner homicides and there is a major role for non-police agencies such as adult social care and health, many of whom these families were known to.”

Lancashire Victim Services, commissioned by Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner, provides specialist support for victims of domestic abuse or sexual violence.

The care team is available to speak to by calling 0300 323 0085 or visiting lancashirevictimservices.org.