PUBS, clubs and streets in Inverclyde could soon be safer places for women as an idea for a new charter takes off.

Councillor Francesca Brennan is joining forces with other elected members to push for change locally following a shocking survey that exposed the levels of harassment and intimidation encountered by females living in the area.

She is now launching a bid to get businesses, leisure facilities and clubs to sign up to a new pledge to put measures in place to keep them safe.

Councillor Brennan said: "The safety of women and girls in Inverclyde is a big priority for me.

"I want to make sure that we break down any barriers that might prevent people accessing all the fantastic opportunities that Inverclyde provides.

"We need women to feel like it is safe for them to come out at night and go to gyms and to walk to places on their own.

"We need to listen to what women are saying."

Councillor Lynne Quinn led the women’s safety survey and the results from it were shameful.

It revealed hundreds of local women had experienced harassment and unwanted sexual attention from men in Inverclyde.

Almost one third of respondents reported that they had experienced issues relating to their gender when taking part in an activity in a public place.

Cllr Brennan said: "Lynne has been really keen to join forces across party lines to make a positive impact for women and I want to see tangible improvements across our community during my time on the council.

"Looking at the results of the survey, I have tried to see a way that we could make a real and measurable impact."

Councillor Brennan wants to follow the lead of areas elsewhere which have introduced charters covering all areas of the night-time economy, with businesses and clubs committing themselves to them.

She raised the idea at the first meeting of the Women's Forum on the newly-elected council and the proposal was positively received.

Cllr Brennan told the Tele: "I proposed that we establish a bespoke Inverclyde Women’s Safety Charter and I'm working with Councillor Quinn as chair, and our council officials, to create the charter and roll it out.

"This is the type of meaningful change that elected representatives have the capacity to make.

"I was delighted that Councillor Quinn was so supportive of my proposal and that the Inverclyde Women’s Safety Charter received unanimous support from all members of the forum."

Over the last five years Cllr Quinn, elected as an independent in 2017, has blazed a trail for women's rights in the Municipal Buildings.

She said: "It is great that we now have a Women's Forum with all females.

"It is a real step in the right direction that there are now more women elected who feel the same way I do and are pushing for change.