Wakefield Council appoints Violence Against Women and Girls Champion
Tuesday, February 04, 2025
Wakefield Council has appointed Cllr Maureen Cummings as its new Violence Against Women and Girls Champion as part of efforts to reduce domestic violence in the district.
This follows the Government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade.
“While we welcome this commitment by the Government, they cannot do this alone. We also need to take action locally and this is the first step.
“It is estimated that one in four women experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. This is absolutely shocking and what’s worse is that we know most abuse is never reported.
“The physical and emotional cost of violence against women and girls on survivors and their family, friends and communities is devastating.”
Cllr Maureen Cummings
Cabinet Member for Communities and Poverty

West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE, said: “Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority here in West Yorkshire.
“Sadly, we know they are disproportionately affected by crimes such as domestic abuse and sexual violence, which is why we have launched a dedicated Women’s Safety Unit to help drive change and support victims and survivors.
“I am therefore delighted at the appointment of Cllr Cummings to this new role. She is a titan in the area of community safety, and she will be an amazing advocate for women and girls in Wakefield, and beyond.”
A motion was passed with unanimous support at a recent meeting of Full Council - calling for a range of measures to be introduced to achieve the target across the district.
These include working with survivors and local specialist services to understand the impact of violence against women and girls in the district and develop a strategy to address this.
And making sure that comprehensive education on healthy relationships is available in all schools across the district.
Cllr Cummings will work to make sure that the Council is carrying out these pledges and amplify the voice of survivors.
She continued: “We need to work with brave survivors and local services to understand the impact violence against women and girls is having in our district so that we can offer the right help and support to those in need.
“But we must also work to make sure it doesn’t happen in the first place and that’s why educating our young people is so important.
“This is an issue really close to my heart and I’ll be working tirelessly to make sure we meet these pledges as quickly as possible.”
A report will be taken to the Corporate and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee within 12 months on the actions taken to fulfil the pledges of the motion.