Ask Questions About Women's Safety in the City

Even though it is often true that women and girls in different cities face similar problems, the relative importance of each safety problem will be different for women and girls in different places. Sometimes, this is called “a geography of violence”. For example, women in New Delhi, India, and women in Vancouver, Canada, both experience sexual harassment. However, in New Delhi, sexual harassment may be more of a safety concern for women than gang violence, while in Vancouver, gang violence may be a more important safety concern than sexual harassment.  In any case, do not assume that the problems another city is facing are the same as one’s own.

In carrying out a situation analysis, partners designing a safe cities for women programme might consider the following questions:

• What kinds of spaces in the city or community do women and girls use?

• What kinds of spaces in the community do women and girls avoid? Why?

• What times of day or night do women and girls go out most often? What times of day or night do women and girls go out least often? Why?

• Do women and girls go out alone, or in groups, or in the company of men?

• Do women and girls stay in spaces and use them, or just move through them?

• What kinds of activities do women and girls perform when they use spaces?

• What kinds of experiences of violence or insecurity do women and girls have in the city or community? When and where are they most likely to experience such violence?

• Which forms of violence and insecurity are deemed most common/priority? Are there gender-specific forms of violence against women and girls (e.g. sexual harassment, sexual assault), or is the concern mostly generalized violence (e.g. theft, other)?

• Which groups of women in the city or community most often experience violence or insecurity?

• What regulatory policies, programmes and practices relating to violence against women, insecurity, and crime already exist in the city or community?

• If regulatory policies, programmes and practices already exist, what forms of violence and crime against women do they target? Are there forms of violence and crime against women that they do not address?

• Of the policies, programmes and practices that do exist, which ones can most effectively help women and girls be more secure in the city or community? How can these be expanded?

• Of the policies, programmes and practices that do exist, which ones are least effective in helping women and girls be more secure in the city or community? How can these be improved or replaced?

• Which safety issue/s require the most attention? Be sure to include the needs of vulnerable groups such as seniors, women with disabilities and women from ethnic minorities.

• Are there differences of opinion and perspectives among the key stakeholders on the relative importance of women’s safety and the issues identified as priority? (For instance, government officials might consider that women’s safety is not a priority, while older citizens might view it as the community’s top priority.) Explore whether or not the attitudes and opinions of different actors are related to available and anecdotal evidence of safety problems and of the perceptions and actual experiences reported by women and girls. (This will later relate to advocacy priorities to ensure mobilization of the necessary support.)

• Are there existing programmes and services tailored for women and/or girls that are gender-responsive on these specific priority issue/s? If so, what is missing and what can be done to improve them?

• How much time is needed to work on this effort?

Conduct a Safety Audit.

The women’s safety audit is a leading tool originally designed by the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC) in Toronto for women to use in order to build their skills and make their communities feel safer. Over the past twenty years, the women’s safety audit has been used in communities and neighbourhoods from Petrozavodsk, Russia to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The safety audit has been adapted to multiple settings and groups, carried out jointly with local government representatives, and evaluated, such that this tool is now internationally-recognized as a ‘best practice’.

There are three main principles which guide women’s safety audits:

1) Women are considered experts on their own environment and safety;

2) Safety audits encourage local and context-specific solutions to issues of insecurity; and

3) Safety audits promote partnerships and joint solutions between women and their local governments.

Benefits: Some of the benefits that have been reported by those using the women’s safety audit tool include: changes to the physical environment to improve safety for women and the community as a whole; changes in local programmes and policies that enhance their promotion of safety for women and the community in general; more funding and positive publicity for organizations and communities involved in women’s safety audits; more skills and confidence for women who participate in audits; and greater public awareness of women’s safety issues (Lambrick and Travers, 2008).

Process: Usually, a women’s safety audit starts with a group of women, and possibly other community members, who meet and discuss spaces in their community that feel unsafe. Safety audit groups generally work best when members are diverse and therefore represent a variety of safety concerns (i.e. younger and older women, disabled women, women from different ethnic backgrounds) (WISE, 2005, page 13). Unsafe spaces might include a shopping centre parking lot, a pathway between residences, a water source, or a public housing development. After the safety audit group has chosen an unsafe space, they go together to that space and note the factors or characteristics that they think make it unsafe (usually with the help of a premade checklist). Factors or characteristics that make a space feel unsafe might include poor lighting, negative graffiti messages, or an isolated location. Once a safety audit has been completed, the group makes a series of recommendations to their local government and other community members to try and improve the space.

Adaptation of the Safety Audit

The safety audit tool has been changed over time to suit the needs of different groups of women and different contexts. In some cases, the language has been made simpler. In other cases, examples and procedures have been tailored to be more compatible with realities in rural areas. In other cases still, completely new audit guides have been made for specific spaces – such as university campuses.

In addition to these changes, different audit groups have taken different approaches to conducting women’s safety audits. Some groups, such as Jagori in India, have used map-making skills to map the characteristics of unsafe spaces (Jagori, 2007). Other groups, like the Somali Women’s Neighbourhood Health and Safety Group in the UK, have used one-on-one interviews with members of the community (Cavanagh, 1998, page 60). Other approaches that have been used within the women’s safety audit include creating scale models of spaces (Cavanaugh, 1998, 16), activity observation (Cavanaugh, 1998, 18), public surveys (Evans and Dame, 1999, 11), photography (WISE, 2005, 19), and public presentations using storyboards (Phaure, 2004, 11).

As a result of these adaptations, the kinds of recommendations that have been made by women’s safety audit groups have varied substantially from the recommendations made when the tool was first created. These recommendations include, for example:

• A heavy focus on physical environmental changes, such as improved street lighting and visibility (Toronto in 1989).

• A focus on socio-economic considerations, such as the creation of safer living spaces for women, an increased focus on health, and job creation in Dar el Salaam, Tanzania (Mtani, 2002).

• For increased public transit in Paris, France (Lieber, 2002).

Remember that women and girls are the best sources of information on when and where they feel safe.

It is very important to obtain information from women and girls about what factors make them feel insecure. This information may differ based on different experiences, so it is important to consult a variety of different women. However, it may be difficult to engage local women and girls because they are too busy or they do not feel comfortable/safe/entitled/interested to participate in this kind of activity (especially if they belong to one or more marginalized populations). To overcome this challenge, allow women and girls to take the lead and communicate in whatever ways make them feel most comfortable. Using a variety of communication tactics can be useful. Different tactics can include holding interviews or focus groups, conducting surveys, making art about insecure experiences, and so on.

 EXAMPLE: CNN Report: Delhi Most Unsafe for Women, finds UN Survey, Delhi, India.                                   In partnership with UN-HABITAT, Delhi-based women’s organization Jagori produced a large-scale survey on women’s safety. The results of this survey, based primarily on women’s experiences in public spaces, produced important and powerful information that garnered attention from elected officials and international media. This CNN news report demonstrates an effective use of information on women’s experiences of safety/insecurity. Available in English.  

Resources:

‘Precautions and Avoidances’ in Women and Community Safety: A Resource Book on Planning for Safer Communities, Dame, T. and A. Grant (Cowichan Women Against Violence Society, 2002): pages 2 – 12. This tool helps to guide facilitation of women’s groups on their experiences of safety and insecurity in their communities. The group of women think about, write down, and discuss how their daily routines are constrained by insecurity, using concrete examples. Available in English and French.

Focus Group Guide (2009). This guide, produced by the Gender Inclusive Cities Programme funded by the UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence Against Women and administered by Women in Cities International (WICI)” provides instructions for safe cities for women programme partners to hold focus groups with women (usually 8 – 12 participants). The aim of the focus group is to “increase understanding of what makes women feel safe or unsafe in public spaces in cities, and how their safety could be improved”. Instructions and helpful hints are given to help with choosing/involving participants, facilitating/moderating the focus group, choosing a venue, introducing the discussion, conducting the discussion, and recording and reporting the results of the discussion. Available in English.

Handling the day-to-day problems of informal workers (n.d.).

 This tool, created by Christine Bonner for Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), is directed towards those actors who work with informal workers on a close basis.  The tool provides information on the kinds of problems informal workers face, including problems relating to gender and safety. Then recommendations are provided on how to work with informal workers in a five-step process: 1. Hear the Story 2. Analyse the Situation 3. Proble More Deeply 4. Find Out More 5. Decide What to Do. Real-life examples are provided for illustration. Available in English.

‘Diagnóstico local y participativo centrado en las experiencias de mujeres’ (Local and Participatory Diagnosis Centered on Women’s Experience) in Herramientas para la promoción de ciudades seguras desde la perspectiva de género (Tools for the Promotion of Safe Cities from the Gender Perspective). (Rainero, L., M. Rodrigou and S. Pérez, 2006). CISCSA – Centro de Intercambio y Servicios Cono Sur, Argentina: pages 59 – 67. This tool was created by CISCSA under the auspices of the UNIFEM-supported Regional Programme on Safe Cities. It includes background information, indicators, and methodologies for diagnosing safety issues for women and girls. Methodologies include surveys, safety audits, indicators, maps of women’s perception of insecurity, and focus groups. This guide is intended to be used by municipal governments and women’s organizations. Available in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

Women’s Safety Audits: What Works and Where? (2008). This report, produced by Women in Cities International, UN-HABITAT and Sida, is an example of a summary of evaluations to date on the women’s safety audit tool. The report begins with a literature review of evaluation of women’s safety audits. The literature review covers practices that work and positive outcomes that have been recorded about the women’s safety audit, as well as practices that do not work and negative outcomes. The literature review also discusses evaluation questions, and recommendations that have come up in material about the women’s safety audit. In addition to the literature review, this report also gives the results of in-depth surveys with groups who have undergone the women’s safety audit. Survey results provide further evaluation information on the successes and challenges of different aspects and adaptations of the tool. As a whole, the report is meant to provide information on how the women’s safety audit tool has been used thus far, and possibilities for its use in the future. It is directed at any group or government wishing to initiate a women’s safety audit in their community. The report is available in English.

A Handbook on Women's Safety Audits in Low-income Urban Neighbourhoods: A Focus on Essential Services (2010). This handbook provides guidance for women's groups, urban planners, community organizations and other urban residents on conducting a women's safety audit in low-income areas. This safety audit guide places particular emphasis on using the methodology to assess women's safety in relation to their access to essential services. The handbook breaks down the women's safety audit process into six steps: rapid situational analysis; interviews with key stakeholders; focus group discussions; in-depth interviews; conducting safety audits; and follow-up activities. Available in English.

Together for Women's Safety: Creating Safer Communities for Marginalised Women and for Everyone (2010). This publication, produced by Women in Cities International, highlights a Canadian project on women's safety which was conducted with groups of marginalised women in four cities (Aboriginal women in Regina, Saskatchewan; women with disabilities in Montreal, Quebec; elderly women in Gatineau, Quebec and immigrant and visible minority women in Peel, Ontario). Together for Women's Safety provides detailed information on project planning and goals, as well as lessons learned and challenges (in relation to the processes of adapting and conducting women's safety audits and partnering with local governments). Available in French and English.

Crossing Barriers, Breaking Divides: Making Delhi a Safer Place for Youth in a Resettlement Colony:  Madanpur Khadar, Delhi (2010). This publication, created by Jagori, documents the process of conducting safety audits with youths (both boys and girls) in a resettlement colony. Here the safety audit process has been adapted to young people's needs and to an urban setting where basic services, such as water and santitation, are a major planning concern. The process and results of this project are described with a focus on mapping and training; critical sensitization of key stakeholders, and youth capacity-building. Results are disaggregated by gender. This publication also provides a guide for conducting a safety audit with youths in a resettlement area. Available in English. 

Walking our Neighbourhoods, Building Cities Free from Violence: Training material for neighbours to conduct participatory baseline assessments of their neighbourhoods so as to improve their habitability and social ties (Rodigou, M., with the collaboration of M. Nazar, 2008). CISCSA - Centro de Intercambio y Servicios Cono Sur – Argentina.  Resources included: Guide available in English and Spanish; Safety Audit Checklist available in English and Spanish; Workshop Photos/Fotos Taller; Video available in English, Spanish and French.

Women’s Safety Audit Guide: Safety for Women, Safety for Everyone, Let’s Act on It! (Women’s Initiatives for Safer Environments, 2005). WISE. Available in English.

Women and Community Safety: A Resource Book on Planning for Safer Communities (Cowichan Women Against Violence Society, 2002). Cowichan Women Against Violence Society. Available in English and French. 

Cowichan Valley Safety Audit Guide (Cowichan Women Against Violence Society, 1999). Cowichan Women Against Violence Society. Available in English.

Guide d'enquête sur la sécurité des femmes en ville (Guide for Investigating Women’s Safety in Cities) (City of Montreal, 1993). Ville de Montréal.  Available in French.

Guide de réalisation d’un marche exploratoire (Safety Audit Guide) (Ville de Lévis, Québec, no date). Available in French.

METRAC’s Safety Audit Kit (Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC, no date). Available for purchase in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Punjabi and Tamil from METRAC.

Making Safer Places: A Resource Book for Neighbourhood Safety Audits (Cavanagh, S., 1998). Women’s Design Service. Available for purchase in English.

La marche exploratoire… Une façon simple d'amélorer la sécurité dans votre mileu (The Safety Audit… A Simple Way to Increase Security in your Area) (Commission Femmes Ville de Québec, no date).  Available in French. 

Sécurité des Lieux: Guide d'évaluation (Secure Places: Evaluation Guide) (Fédération des Infirmières et Infirmiers du Québec, 2003). Available in French.

Kelowna Planning for Safer Communities Workshop (Dame, T. and A. Grant, 2001). Cowichan Valley Safer Futures Program.  Available in English.