THE WORK of two Teignbridge women to make the region safer for women and girls has been recognised as this year’s West Country Women’s Awards.

They are among four finalists announced for the Combating Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) award – one of 20 categories celebrating the achievements and contributions of women across the region.

Rebecca Hewitt, chairman of South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership, was nominated for her vital role working with police and partners to make the community safer.

Working for Teignbridge Council for 28 years, Rebecca’s work involves creating positive changes.

She helped secure more than £300,000 funding to deliver projects through voluntary sector partners Space and Young Devon to keep young people safe in and challenge the culture of misogyny.

It resulted in more than 225 young people giving their views on how to make their communities safer and has seen development of a project that will be piloted in the last year of primary school to boys in three schools.

Rebecca led the Let’s Talk programme designed to empower parents and carers by raising awareness of community safety risks and challenges faced by young people while providing tips to support them.

She led a pilot project using Community Protection Warnings to disrupt negative impacts on the quality of life of local residents.

More than 500 have been issued for various reasons, including stalking behaviour to up skirting, with a compliance rate of more than 90 per cent.

Rebecca said: ‘I have led work on tackling gangs and the impact of the young women within these, informing parents about safeguarding risks and addressing behaviours of young people to create a long-term cultural change. ‘My passion is that we need to bring together the whole community to work at the earliest possible opportunity to create lasting change and stop women and girls being harmed.’

Fellow nominee is Lucy Rhodes, lead youth work practitioner for responsive youth work of Space Youth Services.

Committed to addressing the root causes of gender-based violence through early, evidence-informed intervention in schools, Lucy has developed and delivered a specialist intervention programme called Is This Okay? over the past three years.

It aims to directly address harmful sexual behaviour among young people and help them access appropriate support.

The six-week programme has already reached more than 297 young people aged 13 to 19-years-old across secondary schools in Devon.

In partnership with young women in Teignbridge, Lucy facilitated the collection of experiences of harassment, assault, and everyday behaviours - such as catcalling and being followed - that make them feel unsafe.

This evidence was presented to Teignbridge Council, resulting in improvements to public spaces, including redesigns of public toilets, to make them safer and more welcoming.

She then brought stories directly to local pubs, clubs, and door staff to create safer, more respectful environments for young women across public and private spaces.

Lucy, who has more than 15 years experience working with young people, said: ‘I am committed to addressing the root causes of gender-based violence through early, evidence-informed intervention.

‘I’ve seen first-hand how young people can grow when given the right tools and guidance and how important it is to intervene before patterns become entrenched.

‘It is important to shine a light on the importance of early, education-based approaches in the fight against violence towards women and girls.’