Fife Council to seek Equally Safe at Work accreditation

Accreditation would see the council join four other Scottish local authorities in being recognised by the program. Aberdeen City Council, Midlothian Council, North Lanarkshire Council and Shetland Islands Council, have already gained bronze standard accreditation.

The program has been developed to help implement the COSLA and the Scottish Government owned Equally Safe, Scotland's national strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls.

Council leader Councillor David Ross says participation in the program is part of the council’s aim to address gender equality in the Kingdom and to address the issues linked to it, such as violence against women.

He added: “Within our own organisation we’ve committed to the Equally Safe at Work programme to help us establish positive cultural norms and ensure all employees feel safe and supported at work.

“It provides the tools to progress this agenda and make meaningful change for all our staff, which aligns with our wider aim to build safer communities across Fife.”

Steve Grimmond, Fife Council’s chief executive, says the process will be ongoing as the council continues to adapt to needs.

He said: “We’ve already had a good response to a staff survey, which will help us understand how people feel currently, and whether our actions make a difference. We’ll keep reviewing perceptions of equality as part of our workplace culture, to make sure we’re creating lasting change and meeting people’s ongoing needs.”

Sheila Noble is the Fife Violence Against Women partnership coordinator and she says that she hopes Fife Council’s participation will be seen as inspiration for other employers.

She said: “Violence against women and girls has no place in Fife in 2022. I hope other employers will look at the work Fife Council is doing to put a spotlight on the issue of gender inequality, and consider ways to do the same.

“Of course, while women and girls are at greatest risk of gender based violence, we know that boys, men and trans people are also affected – and we all need to work together to eradicate it”.