New interactive map to track where women feel safe
6 in every 10 women in NSW don't feel safe after dark according to research by the NSW government's safer cities survey. To counter this, a new interactive map has been designed to make women and gender diverse people feel safe in public places.
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TVTranscript
00:00 Look, I think women are experiencing a lack of feeling safe after dark and you're right,
00:06 it relates to night time, to lighting, but also to things like maintenance and a lack
00:12 of activation that we're seeing in public spaces.
00:14 So women feeling a bit isolated.
00:17 And we also know that women who are younger, so under 25 or older, over 75 also feel quite
00:23 unsafe.
00:24 Yeah.
00:25 Okay.
00:26 So what's the map and how it is going to work?
00:30 Well yourground.org is really asking women and gender diverse people to pin a spot on
00:35 this interactive map and to share their experiences of safety in New South Wales.
00:40 It's anonymous, it's de-identified and we're really thinking about the location, the time
00:45 of day, the kind of environment.
00:48 And each pin is accompanied by a brief description from the user's experience.
00:52 And that really helps us understand the shape and quality of public space for women and
00:57 gender diverse people.
00:58 So is the idea that then other women can go onto this map and have a look at what some
01:03 of the experiences of women with respect to safety have been in those areas?
01:08 Absolutely.
01:09 And that's actually what a lot of people do.
01:11 They're really curious about what's happening in their local communities.
01:14 But importantly, we're seeking to understand positive and negative perceptions.
01:18 So analysing the good spots really tells us a lot about the not so good ones.
01:22 And so both are really important to this research.
01:24 So is this map just for women and gender diverse people or is it really for everyone?
01:29 Look, we're seeking contributions specifically from women in all their diversity.
01:34 We really understand that women are not a homogenous group and they are really different
01:38 in terms of their cultural background and their sexuality and ability, their age, etc.
01:43 But we're also incredibly keen to include gender diverse people so that people who don't
01:49 identify within those kind of gender binaries can really contribute to this research as
01:54 well.
01:55 But it's important to understand that everybody benefits from better public spaces.
01:59 So I think that everyone will benefit in the end.
02:01 So what do you hope to achieve with the Your Ground interactive map?
02:06 So what we're hoping to achieve is that when this data is collated and analysed, it will
02:11 provide a kind of counter narrative to things like crime statistics and census data.
02:16 We know that we can raise awareness about gendered experiences in public spaces, but
02:20 really start to think very carefully about the kinds of nuances of women's experiences
02:25 in public space and identify and prioritise areas of concern.
02:29 Do you think it would go towards informing policy around women's safety?
02:34 Absolutely.
02:35 And we've seen in Victoria and also in New South Wales, things like the Gender Equality
02:39 Act in Victoria and the Women's Safety Charter in New South Wales.
02:43 And these are absolutely key policy initiatives that are really helping to make people accountable
02:49 for how we're thinking about women and gender diverse people in public spaces.
02:53 And was that a result of the 2021 Victorian experience?
02:57 And if not, what was the result of that?
03:01 So I think the Victorian experience in 2021 was really thinking about how we can identify
03:06 and prioritise areas.
03:08 And what's been done with that research is it's allowed an evidence base for people and
03:13 communities to think very carefully about how to allocate funding, prioritise projects,
03:19 and we're hoping that the same thing will happen in New South Wales.
03:21 So with that Victorian data, presumably there would have been a range of areas that would
03:27 have been deemed from safe to unsafe.
03:30 With respect to the areas that are unsafe, what do people do with that?
03:35 I mean, people have to live in all areas.
03:37 So if you live in an area that's unsafe.
03:40 Look, I think that when we're thinking about unsafe areas, we're thinking about a range
03:45 of concerns.
03:46 So often what we find in the research that we do is there are two dominant features.
03:51 Some of the research uncovers things about public amenities, so the material of public
03:55 spaces, things like lighting, about maintenance, footpaths, etc.
04:01 But also it can tend to be about the behaviour of other people.
04:04 So we're needing a really kind of multi-modal approach to thinking about women's safety
04:09 in public spaces.
04:10 And that's the kind of investment that communities are making when they're thinking about how
04:14 to address this issue.
04:15 Just finally, Dr. Combs, the XYX Lab uses data to look at a number of things.
04:21 It's some really interesting work that's going on there.
04:23 What other aspects of life are you looking at with respect to data and safety?
04:29 Look, I'm really interested in the ways that this particular research, even though we're
04:34 focused on the public realm, can contribute to that larger conversation, in fact, really
04:38 urgent conversation we're having about women's safety experiences more broadly in public
04:43 life.
04:44 So we know that there are areas around the home, the workplace, public institutions,
04:49 schools, where we really need to think more carefully about what's happening to women
04:53 in these places.
04:54 And I think that there's an interdependence that we're starting to understand between
04:58 the public realm and other areas of social life.
05:01 And I think that we're really starting to contribute to making change in that area.
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