If you are a victim of harassment we will take it seriously and support is available

We are aware of the forthcoming Dispatches  programme – Undercover: Sexual Harassment – The Truth, which is due to be aired on Monday night (12 December).

We have not seen the programme in advance, however, we believe that the female reporter, alleges that she was subject to sexual harassment in the city centre and was even followed back to her room by a man.

We were not contacted by the programme makers about the incident and have contacted them for further details, as we have no report of any complaint involving the reporter.

Merseyside Police is committed to tackling sexual violence against women and we take all allegations seriously in a bid to prevent further incidents and arrest those responsible. We will be carrying out an investigation into the allegation of harassment that is featured in the programme and would appeal to the man featured in the programme, or anyone with information, to come forward.

We takes all forms of violence against women, including sexual assault and harassment seriously and we are committed to ensuring that women in Merseyside are safe.

Every woman should feel safe, and we are steadfast in our commitment to doing everything possible to ensure this is the case.

Operation Empower, is our proactive policing response to preventing sexual violence and protecting women in the Night Time Economy (NTE).

The operation involves the deployment of officers, in key locations on busy nights or at important events, who are specially trained to identify potential perpetrators who are displaying signs of predatory behaviour such as loitering without good reason, or giving or approaching females with unwanted attention.

Throughout the Christmas and New Year period, we will have extra officers out in Liverpool city centre and towns across Merseyside to ensure that people can enjoy a night out safely.

We would always encourage anyone who has been a victim of crime to report the matter to police at the earliest opportunity.

If you are being harassed, please approach a police officer so that appropriate action can be taken, or if you witness someone being harassed let the police know of your concerns.

Last month we introduced a pilot initiative to help women feel safe in and around the city centre. The “Walk & Talk” scheme gives women and girls the opportunity to join up with police officers out on patrol to discuss their concerns and worries about feeling safe.

They are able to walk through areas where they feel unsafe with officers and representatives from partner organisations, with a view to discussing what can be done to alleviate their concerns and to see if they have any ideas about what could be done to help them feel safer.

The patrols take place in the evening and by taking time out to talk and listen to women and girls about why they feel unsafe in certain areas we hope to have a better understanding of what can be done to alleviate those concerns.

On the back of the conversations from the Walk and Talk scheme our officers and representatives from partner organisations including Liverpool City Council, Merseytravel and the universities will seek to take positive action, whether that’s designing out crime through the likes of improved lighting or additional CCTV, or increased patrols in the city centre at certain times, or days of the week.

All women and girls have the right to feel safe, at any time, day or night, in public, at work or at home.  ‘Walk and Talk’ is just one of the initiatives to demonstrate how we are listening to women and girls and addressing their fears to allow them to live their lives without fear of sexual objectification, harassment, or physical and mental abuse.

Fifty partners from across Merseyside have also joined together to sign up to the Violence Against Women and Girls Delivery Plan. The Delivery Plan is the result of extensive consultation with professional partners, including frontline community groups and voluntary organisations, and women and girls from across all five boroughs of Merseyside who have shared their lived experiences.

As part of the plan NHS England and the five local authorities have pledged £3.2m for a dedicated aftercare support service for all victims of rape and sexual violence, over the next five years, which will be delivered by RASA Merseyside and RASASC Cheshire and Merseyside. A further £2.5m has also been committed to support young victims of exploitation.

A further £576,000 has been secured to expand the Safer Streets Liverpool Campaign and this will include increased police uniformed patrols at transport hubs and on key transport routes at peak times; increased CCTV; provision of bystander training to staff; an educational campaign about misogyny and a marketing campaign to make clear that sexual violence is unacceptable.

If you, or someone you know, is/has been a victim of harassment there are a few different ways you can report it to the police.

• If it’s an emergency, always call 999 and ask for the police. If you're deaf or hard of hearing, use our textphone service 18000 or text us on 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergency SMS service
• Call Victim Care Merseyside for support. Call Freephone 0808 175 3080 on weekdays between 8am and 6pm, or request support online at www.victimcaremerseyside.org at any time
• Report online: If you’d like to report online, rather than speaking to an officer by telephone in the first instance, you can use our online crime reporting service which is secure and confidential. All reports made using this service are reviewed by our 24/7 contact centre within a few hours and an officer will get back to you in a maximum of two days (although usually quicker).
• Call 101: If you’d like to talk to someone, our national non-emergency telephone number is staffed 24/7. Call us on and report what happened or just get some advice.
• Visit a police station: If you’d like to speak to an officer in person, we can provide a safe and comfortable environment at any of our police stations.
• Crimestoppers: Information provided anonymously via Crimestoppers is extremely valuable in helping us plan how we police each area. You can contact them through their website https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information  or by calling 0800 555 111.