Tackling Crime  – Safer Congleton

Domestic and Sexual Violence 

Did you know that we have one incident of domestic abuse reported to the Police every day on average in Congleton and one of sexual violence every week?

Kay has ensured that:

• These figures get reported regularly in public meetings, so that these crimes have ‘come out from behind closed doors’.There is a new Domestic Abuse Clinic in Congleton, which supports survivors every week and runs a peer support group once a month. (Kay secured funding for this)

• As a result , due to improved local victim support and the public discourse, domestic abuse arrests in Congleton have doubled in the past year. As a result Kay was co-opted as a Board member for the Cheshire East Domestic & Sexual Abuse Partnership (CEDSAP).

‘Kay Wesley has done more to combat domestic abuse in Congleton in 30 months as a Councillor than Congleton Town Council did for the previous 30 years’  White Ribbon Ambassador

Susan has worked with families in Bromley Farm who have been affected by domestic abuse and helped survivors build their lives back through her peer support group and clothes/toy banks.

Prevention is Better than Cure – White Ribbon Campaign  

Kay led the work to get White Ribbon Accreditation for Congleton Town Council in 2020. White Ribbon is a charity that engages men to tackle domestic abuse and sexual violence. Congleton now has 11 White Ribbon Ambassadors who have been working with the community, especially local schools, to spread the word about causes of domestic and gender-based violence. Kay’s Congleton-based business is also a White Ribbon organisation.

In one year, the domestic abuse clinic received visits from six perpetrators who were concerned about their own behaviour and seeking support to change it – the clinic providers said they had never seen this before and think it is due to the White Ribbon Campaign.

Safer Streets 

As Chair of the Antisocial Behaviour Working Group, Kay led the effort to sign up Congleton Town Council to the Community Safety Charter, helping us work with partners to tackle hate crime, harassment and other behaviours that can lead to people feeling unsafe on the streets.

Susan’s Bromley Farm Hub group is working with Plus Dane to improve the safety of the environment around Parnell Square with improved streetlighting and pavement markings.

Challenging Hate Crime  

Kay worked with Cheshire Police to make the Congleton Pride team a hate crime Reporting Centre so that people have someone to go to if they experience this and are reluctant to call the Police directly.