A Vale of Glamorgan Council participation group has received further recognition after winning a Celebrating Youth Work Excellence in Wales award at a ceremony in Llandudno.

Her Voice Wales, made up of girls aged 13 to 17 from across the county, works with the Council's Youth Service.

Its members wanted to raise awareness of the prevalence of catcalling and sexual harassment directed at girls.

They produced a report on how to improve street safety, which has been presented to a range of audiences, including members of the Council's Cabinet and Welsh Government.

 Those efforts have now seen them win the Welsh Government award, which honours exceptional youth work contributions across the country, in the category of Demonstrating Excellence in Partnership Planning and Delivery at a Local Level.

Cllr Ruba Sivagnanam, Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, Equalities and Regulatory Services, said: "The work Her Voice Wales has done is incredibly impressive. Not only have its members researched and reported on a serious issue affecting young people, they have also brought it to the attention of key decision makers.

 "This award is richly reward for an initiative that has made a genuine impact, improving street safety for girls in the Vale and beyond.

"We want everyone in our communities to feel safe, and, though evidence suggests most do, there is always room for improvement.

 "Sexual harassment among girls is completely unacceptable, but, sadly, it is a real problem that needs to be addressed.

 "These young women have been brave enough to confront this issue head on, coming up with a number of practical suggestions to bring about change."

 Her Voice Wales started the #wedon'tfeelsafecampaign to encourage young people to report incidents of harassment, while prominent individuals, such as council leader Lis Burnett, have made a pledge to publicise the problem.

 The group has also come up with ideas to improve street safety, including the creation of Safe Spaces, an initiative that involves asking businesses across the Vale to display a sticker in their windows indicating that it is a safe place to enter.

This work attracted national attention and led to the group featuring in a three-part series on S4C, which was broadcast earlier this year.

A production company that provides content for the Welsh Language broadcaster became aware of Her Voice Wales after one of its staff attended a presentation in Cardiff.

The group's experiences were then included in a set of programmes, each focusing on a different topic that has an impact on young people.

Anyone who would like to get involved in the project can contact the Vale Youth Service be emailing [email protected]