Taking Back the Streets: A New Fight for Women’s Safety in Britain
V24 Exclusive: Across the UK, young women are breaking the silence on rising harassment and fear. Leading the charge is the Women’s Safety Initiative, founded by Jess Gill, which is pushing for bold reforms, from mandatory CCTV in taxis to a national platform for survivors' voices. Gill shares how lived experience and growing determination are turning pain into action, and sparking a vital movement to reclaim safety in Britain.
Heike Claudia du Toit
Jun 13, 2025 - 3:22 PM
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Young Women Speak Out
Across the UK, an increasing number of young women are coming forward with stories of fear, harassment, and a sense that the streets, taxis, parks, and public transport — places they once felt safe — are no longer theirs. What began as private discomfort has evolved into a national conversation, one often too controversial for politicians to address or mainstream media to cover. But now, a new group is stepping up to say what many are thinking.
The Women’s Safety Initiative (WSI), very recently formed by volunteers mostly in their early twenties, refuses to stay silent. Officially incorporated on 6 May 2025, WSI campaigns for practical safety measures like mandatory CCTV in taxis and creates space for survivors of abuse and harassment to speak out. Grounded in lived experience, their focus is clear: making Britain safer for women and addressing the impact of mass immigration.
One of WSI’s founding voices, Jess Gill, shared a deeply upsetting story that motivates her activism. “A group of young girls had gone into central London and were attacked in a shop,” she said. “This happened over a decade ago. The case involved multiple perpetrators and left severe trauma. The men involved were foreign-born. That story has stayed with me ever since.”
Her concern isn’t isolated. “I have also heard other accounts, cases where very young girls were repeatedly harmed by groups of men. And these are only the stories from survivors who felt able to speak out. I cannot imagine how many more remain hidden.”
The Gaping Support Gap
When it comes to support, the picture is bleak. “Hardly any support is offered,” Gill explained. “At best, some are offered a few counselling sessions. But that’s not enough. When someone has been through grooming, extreme abuse, manipulation, how is that ever going to be enough?”
She likened the trauma to the worst crime stories, saying, “You always see these actual crime books, but they’re nothing compared to what these girls have been through. There are hundreds of thousands of them, and it’s just massively underfunded.”
Why ‘Safe Cabs Now’ is WSI’s First Campaign
WSI’s first campaign, “Safe Cabs Now,” aims to make CCTV mandatory in taxis, a measure the group believes is long overdue. “Taxis are one of the places where women feel most vulnerable, and there’s little accountability,” Gill said. “I started Googling towns like Bolton and Wigan with the words ‘taxi sexual assault’ and saw how common it was. There are thousands of cases each year, and I think it’s massively underreported.”
Gill acknowledged the risk might be statistically low, but stressed, “One rape is one too many. This is just a straightforward measure to stop that.”
This campaign was inspired by Daisy Blakemore, a 19-year-old who was Labour’s youngest councillor. “She raised this issue and was bullied for it, so she left her party. That’s when we got involved and said she shouldn’t be alone in this.”
The Unspoken Conversation
Talking openly about these issues is difficult. “It’s uncomfortable,” the activist said. “People are scared to be labelled. One of our activists is still in the sixth form. She told her friends about WSI, and they said, ‘Isn’t that racist?’ They’ve been taught that caring about safety somehow makes you hateful.”
However, reality has changed minds. “Then an asylum hotel opened nearby, and one of the girls who’d criticised her got harassed. After that, she said, ‘You were right.’ And now she wants to help.”
Gill admitted that it’s unfortunate, “I don’t want girls to have to face something, even if it’s something like that, to get to this. But I think that is the reality.”
A Changed Britain
The activist urged a broader recognition of how much the UK has changed: “We’re not in the same country we were 30 years ago. I grew up in Bolton, and girls could walk around at midnight without worrying about being harassed. I would never do that now. Most women I know wouldn’t. We used to be a high-trust society. That’s gone.”
Gill was clear that this isn’t about isolated cases of local men catcalling: “This isn’t due to your odd British man making remarks; it’s about the overrepresentation of undocumented immigrants in sex crime statistics.” Police data shows that foreign nationals are twice as likely to be arrested as British citizens. In particular, Afghans and Eritreans were found to be over 20 times more likely to be convicted of sex crimes compared to British nationals. According to Ministry of Justice data, foreigners account for up to a quarter of sex crime convictions.
Describing her own political background, Gill said: “I come from a libertarian background. If you’d asked me a couple of years ago, I’d have said no, it’s impossible, it can’t be! However, it has become a high priority to protect women’s rights now.”
Though they cannot stop immigration alone, WSI sees their role clearly: “We can initiate campaigns to help ensure the safety of women.”
A Movement Growing Fast
Despite being new, WSI’s impact is undeniable. In just a few weeks, they have appeared on talk shows and reached five million impressions on X. The group vows to continue growing and inventing new initiatives to help women feel safe again across the UK.
WSI empowers women through training, community building, and activism. They prepare women to speak confidently in public and media, create local chapters for real-world connections and events, and lead campaigns to influence policy and improve safety.
Women in London, and beyond, deserve to feel safe once more. The Women’s Safety Initiative has stepped into the breach, refusing to let uncomfortable truths remain unspoken. In a culture too often avoiding hard conversations, they are choosing to speak and to act. That's courage.
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Heike Claudia du Toit
South African | Content Writer