Violence against women and girls has been labelled a "national emergency" by key figures as rates of abuse in the North East soar. But how safe do women really feel on a day to day basis? We went to find out. 

At least one in every 12 women will be a victim of violence each year - that's according to a new report released today (July 23) by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing.

In the North East, 52,394 domestic abuse-related crimes were recorded by police in the year to  March 2023 - up more than 150 per cent compared to eight years ago, according to Home Office figures.

But, what more can and should be done to make women feel safer on our streets? We went out to speak to the women of Darlington to see how safe they really feel.

Jade Kelly, 27, works at Darlington Hippodrome. She stopped to chat to The Northern Echo about her experiences as both a mum and someone who is often walking alone at night.

"For the most part I do feel pretty safe," she said.

"I am pretty vigilant but when I have my daughter with me I am a bit more alert. I'm not a big fan of walking in the dark.

"I think the place I feel most unsafe is on Tubwell Row. You have people who come out of the pubs drunk. It makes me nervous.

"I have had bad experiences like that in the past."

Jade thinks a larger police presence on the streets would make a difference.

Another mum who expressed concerns was Nicola Creighton. 

Nicola, 42, is a stay at home mum. She explained that she fears for the safety of her daughter, age 11, who will soon be starting secondary school.

She said: "As a parent there is a lot of paranoia. Luckily, nothing has ever happened to me or my daughter but I just don't want to take that chance.

"A lot of it, I think, is because nobody has any respect or human decency towards one another any more. Nobody cares for anyone else any more.

"We do live on a very quiet street, but the thought of letting my daughter go out on her own and meet friends now she's going in to secondary school just scares the life out of me."

For younger women, they say have experiences of feeling unsafe when they're on nights out.

Olivia Lowe, 22, and Sophie Young, 24, told the Echo that Darlington feels more "rough" than other places, which puts them on edge.

They never leave each other on nights out and stick together for safety.

The pair then recounted experiences in which they have been out with friends and were "kicked out" of the club when drunk.

Unable to go back in and get their friends, they are left outside alone - and vulnerable.

"It would be better if the bouncers actually cared about you," they agreed.

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On the other end of the age spectrum, old age pensioners say they feel "relatively safe" when walking about.

But the two women, who did not want to be named, told the Echo they would simply "never" go out in the dark alone.

Whether this was because of habit or choice, they were not sure.