Lancashire County Council post for tackling violence against women and girls
The move was unanimously backed by councillors, with powerful personal stories shared in support of the new role.
Lancashire County Council has unanimously voted to create a new role dedicated to addressing violence against—and control of—women and girls.
The newly established ‘member champion’ post was backed during a full council meeting, where County Councillor Maria Jones put herself forward for the role, citing her own experience of domestic abuse.
County Cllr Jones told the chamber:
“All of a sudden, anything I tried to do was not good enough. Very quickly, he would get angry – the smallest thing would lead to him losing his temper.
Very soon anger turned into rage and involved throwing things around the house, screaming and pointing at me – blaming me for every little thing that went wrong – and it wasn’t my fault.
I got to a point where I felt like I was treading on eggshells – trying my best not to upset him in any way – because I was frightened…how he would react. This made no difference – things just got worse.”
She added:
“He was controlling my life – I was not allowed to have friends. And at this time I was in my early 20s and wanted to improve my education. However, even this was taken away from me – and I was not allowed to pursue any opportunities or interests.
It was all about him – anything I did had to be for his benefit.”
Her speech was met with applause and cross-party support. She said she hoped to be a “focal point” for the council’s efforts to support women in similar situations.
“I was blessed to receive the help and support I needed at the time I needed it – and this has made me determined to do everything I can…to help women who are experiencing the horror that I did,” she said.
The idea for the role came from Labour opposition councillor Samara Barnes, herself a survivor of domestic abuse.
County Cllr Barnes said:
“Services are spread across departments and no one, senior political figure at Lancashire County Council is fully accountable for driving this agenda forward. That’s a gap – and it matters.”
She added that while the council and police had made the issue a priority, efforts remained “too fragmented.”
The meeting heard that in 2023, nearly 36,000 incidents of domestic abuse were reported in Lancashire—an average of 59 per day. In the past year, there have also been almost 6,000 reports of rape and other sexual offences.
The member champion role will be formally appointed at a later date, and—following County Cllr Barnes’ proposal—will always be held by someone with direct personal or professional experience of violence against women and girls.
Green Party group leader Gina Dowding said:
“I could not think of anyone better” than County Cllr Jones to take on the role.
Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.Lancashire County Council to Appoint Champion for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls