A BRAVE councillor spoke emotionally about her own experiences of sexual assault yesterday while calling on the council to work more on early intervention to prevent the root causes of violence against women and girls.
Coun Leyla Nayeri, of the Liberal Democrat group, spoke openly about her own experiences of assault in moving the motion.
The Liberal Democrats asked the council to encourage the addition of ‘sexual harassment and sexual violence’ to the curriculum.
They also encouraged the training of staff within education and other settings to spot early signs of inappropriate behaviour and launched a public awareness campaign to encourage open and honest dialogue around the sensitive topic.
Coun Nayeri said: “This subject is incredibly personal to me but it’s a topic I felt could make a real difference to all residents of Barnsley.
“A topic which, given its sensitivity, would see us leave our political differences aside.
“It has taken me quite some time to find the courage to bring this motion to full council this chamber, for me, is not a safe space.
“It has taken the support of my fellow Lib Dem councillors to be able to stand here.
“I realise that the topic in question can make us feel uncomfortable and certain groups or people can feel attacked.
“Standing here in this chamber, a room which is predominantly men and say to you that we need to change the narrative on rape and sexual assault is daunting.
“I stand not only as a councillor but as a woman, a mother and as a resident of Barnsley who wants to prevent the horror that I endured when I was sexually assaulted from happening to anyone else.
“I teach my children to always stand up for what they believe and so no matter how difficult this is for me, or for you in this chamber we must be proactive and change the narrative for our future generation, because I would never wish this hell upon anyone.”
Coun Nayeri was praised for her bravery by all in the chamber but due to a late amendment, several Labour councillors raised concern that they did not have time to fully consider it and the ruling was taken to adjourn a decision.
She said: “I am obviously disappointed that we were not given the opportunity to discuss and resolve this motion, given the fact that the conversation about toxic masculinity and incel culture is so live at the moment.
“Despite that, we are looking forward to working with the cabinet team to bring forward an updated, agreed motion which lays out some clear, achievable resolutions for the council.
“We must all play our part to tackle the damaging culture that breeds perpetrators of sexual violence.”
A Barnsley Council spokesperson confirmed to the Chronicle that cross-party support had been achieved in principle.
“Both the motion and the amendment had been submitted in advance for members to consider before the meeting,” they added.
“A further amended motion was submitted on paper during the meeting by the Liberal Democrats.
“However, several members raised concern that they did not have the opportunity to fully consider the latest amendment.
“Therefore members voted to adjourn the debate, allowing time to agree a cross-party position and bring a single version of the motion back to the next meeting.”
