Greater Manchester Combined Authority is consulting on proposals that support councils in seeking Public Space Protection Orders that protect women and girls from harassment and abuse.

The combined authority has published proposals for a 'Gender Based Abuse Strategy: The Greater Manchester Strategy to Tackle Violence Against Women & Girls' – a 10-year Strategy to tackle gender-based abuse.

Gender-based abuse covers a range of harms against women and girls. This can include domestic homicides, domestic abuse and coercive control; rapes and sexual assaults; street and workplace harassment; stalking on and offline; sexual exploitation; and threatening behaviour directed towards women.

The proposals include funding for specific services and projects, training and development for frontline staff and targeted public engagement campaigns.

The also include support local authorities across Greater Manchester in seeking Public Space Protection Orders that protect women and girls from harassment and abuse. This will include working with the Greater Manchester Night Time Economy Adviser to implement an action plan that tackles gender-based abuse in public places and commercial settings.

Mayor Andy Burnham said: ‘We’ve been doing some serious long-term thinking about gender-based abuse in Greater Manchester for a while and we have deliberately brought forward our proposals for a new 10-year strategy because of the huge public engagement with the issue prompted by recent events.’

Referring to the tragic death of Sarah Everard, Mr Burnham continued: ‘It’s taken the tragic death of a young woman to begin a national conversation about how we can collectively tackle the abuse of women and girls – abuse that has gone on for far too long, attitudes and behaviours that go unchallenged.

‘I’m asking the public here in Greater Manchester to join our conversation and help shape our ambitious strategy so we can do this together.’