2006 sees the 20th anniversary of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and it is dedicating much of this year, including National Personal Safety Day on 16th October, to highlighting personal safety issues for children. In May, it launched the Safe School Charter which encourages schools to put the personal safety of everyone involved in the school community – teachers, staff and pupils – at the forefront of their agenda. So far over 2000 schools have signed up to it. Ask your children’s school if they have signed up. And if they haven’t, ask them why not!!
About the Trust: Twenty years ago this July, 25-year-old Suzy Lamplugh tragically disappeared without trace. Her body has never been found and in 1993 she was finally declared dead, presumed to have been murdered.
Suzy worked as an estate agent in Fulham at the time and she disappeared whilst showing an unknown client around an empty property. Her parents, Paul and Diana, soon recognised that there was a real need for research and practical training to help people to cope with aggression and violence in society today and, determined to help others and to use the knowledge they had gained, they founded The Suzy Lamplugh Trust.
Over the years, the charity has campaigned for changes in law and procedures including minicab safety; safety on trains and stations; treatment and sentencing of sex offenders, missing persons, stalking and many others. They have enjoyed many successes including their contribution to The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998. It also played a strong role in the foundation of “Victims Voice” and Get Connected”, both now independent charities.
Diana is no longer involved in the charity due to ill-health, but Paul is still a Trustee.
Over the years the charity has grown and developed. What started as a small local charity has now become a national institution that works alongside government, the police, the educational establishment, public bodies and the business sector to encourage safety wherever people may be at risk - in the home, at work, in public and in schools and colleges, on public transport and when travelling at home or abroad.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust is dedicated to improving personal safety for all, whether female or male, young or old, and it undertakes a wide range of research, campaigning, training, education and practical support activities to put its aims into practice.
Personal Safety is a vital life skill than can be learnt and The Suzy Lamplugh Trust believes that the earlier children start to develop this skill the better.
