Most women have felt unsafe at one time or another while walking around a city — and consequently, have made changes to their behaviour and movements.
Catching the earlier train to avoid walking home late at night. Steering clear of certain streets. Avoiding eye contact at bus stops. It’s an unwritten rule of sorts – something women do, but don’t often speak about openly.
Enter Free To Be – an online interactive map giving young Australian women the opportunity to speak up, share their experiences, and reclaim their city.
Created by Plan International Australia and Crowdspot, Free To Be is a campaign to ensure women’s voices are heard in the conversation around creating safe cities.
Listen to our Mamamia Outloud team debate women and safety in public spaces. (Post continues after audio)
The map of Melbourne allows anyone to drop a pin at a location and describe their experience — like 16-year-old Carly, who was sexually harassed as she walked down a busy street.
“Three guys in their twenties walked past me. I saw them looking me up and down, then one of them reached out and grabbed my butt as he walked past,” Carly, an ambassador for the campaign, said.
Since that incident, Carly said she made an effort to glare at people so they would avoid her and constantly thought, ‘What can I change?’
“I know I’m going out of my way to avoid scenarios where I will be talked to or touched inappropriately. But I just think about it as a way to survive,” she says.
Women can feel unsafe without ever being assaulted, like Carlton resident Idil.
The 20-year-old said she would carefully plan her outings around the city, not only to keep herself safe but to avoid being blamed if something were to happen.
“One of my biggest fears is something horrible happening to me and having people I care about say, ‘You shouldn’t have done that, you should have not been out at that time, or you should not have been by yourself’,” Idil said.
"I shouldn’t have to do that. I want to be really clear in saying it’s never a victim’s fault what happens to them."
These young women aren't alone in their defensive approach.
Plan International Australia deputy chief executive Susanne Legena said although Australia has a very low level of crime, one in three girls aged 15 to 19 still don’t feel safe being out in the city after dark.
Ms Legena said the Free To Be map was not designed for women to warn others to avoid areas, but rather to share their experiences in order to create "positive change".
"We hope women aged 15-30 will contribute to (the map), so we can fill the gap in knowledge and tell the story of the city from the perspective of young women."
Ms Legena said the organisation will then take that information to city councils, public transport organisations, bar and club owners and Victoria Police to "put the onus back on the people responsible for keeping cities safe".
"We want to create a sense of community - that you're not alone that you have a right to participate in all aspects of all life in your community. You have every right to be everywhere and the onus is on others to ensure those places are safe," she added.
Ms Legena said positive experiences could also be shared, and encouraged women to suggest their ideas for how safety could be improved in areas they felt were unsafe.
"Show us what makes it that place that you want to go to... the kind of places that do work and that don't work."
The map will be active until the end of the year. You can check out it out here.
Top Comments
I really don't like this idea at all, regardless of their intentions I think there's much better ways to raise awareness and effect change without the scaremongering... The simple fact is that the most likely to be victims in the streets are men in their late teens to mid 20s. The rates of women being victimised is actually very very low - based on reported crime statistics, court statistics and also victim surveys.
It's good that they're trying to highlight areas that could use improvement but just because someone feels unsafe doesn't mean that they are unsafe and I think a better course of action would be to empower people to feel safer.
I find it very puzzling (even as a woman who has instances where I've felt like this before myself) that we do feel this way. That despite the facts, women do report feeling more fear than men do when out. I think we need to find out WHY that is and try to empower ourselves and each other so we can all feel safer whether we're at home, out, alone or accompanied!
I think the reason why is a simple one: men are, on average, larger and stronger than women. If a man decides he is going to attack a woman who is on her own, the odds are overwhelmingly on the woman coming out worse.
I'm not a small woman - I'm 5'9" and solidly built, but I know that I'm no match strengthwise even for men much shorter than me.
Well maybe men can make a map for themselves. Not all harassment of women is reported, court statistics are useless here. Women don't go to the police for being harassed or being made to feel unsafe on the street and people aren't charged for that.
I think that this does empower women to feel safer, by allowing them to see the experiences of others and pinpoint places to avoid where many women have reported feeling unsafe. It could also be used to find places that need more lighting or CCTV or some safe spaces. I feel unsafe when out because of my past experiences, being followed, being touched and being called out to, threatened and insulted. It doesn't come from nowhere and it's not puzzling to me, it comes from knowing that men can be dangerous.
My point wasn't "but what about men" & also like I said the statistics are supported by victim surveys too - I know it's obviously not an exact science but it does give an idea.
I agree that would definitely be part of it.
I'm similar to you - I have height & strength on my side but I definitely know if some crazy was going to have a go I'd better hope my legs could move because i don't doubt i wouldn't be a match for them