Comments on: Online discussion: Paving the way to gender equality: gender perspectives for inclusive urban mobility

By: Keiko Nowacka

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 15:41:00 +0000

By: Saskia Beer

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 15:40:00 +0000

Hello there, great initiative to have this discussion and urn fortunately I haven’t been able to join in earlier. I profoundly agree that we should not encourage the idea that women need a separate place in the city. From my own experience social security (eyes on the street) are as important as good lighting. Also places that offer a good overview and are not too packed are important. In Tokyo the problems are strongest in rush hour when the metros are so full that men can touch women without anybody seeing who did it. So the layout of stations and frequency of trains in rush hour (for everybody) could help. ]]>

By: Heather Allen

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 10:19:00 +0000

Women only services and spaces do not seem to deliver long term solutions as they further the idea that women need ‘special’ treatment – in some cultures women only public transport services can help provide the mobility needs but in many cases they create other social problems … and it is all about developing tolerant and inclusive societies in the end so we can all live together in reasonable harmony and security. In Bangladesh the women only services had to be stopped because they were not as regular as normal services and women tended to refer to get on the first bus rather than ‘their bus’ – creating the types of reactions from men already mentioned by Kalpana on the Delhi metro – and it also creates disputes when men may be crammed into the back of the bus and the women area is quite free.. In Mexico and Tokyo it seems to work because of the high ridership levels – but at the end of the day it should only be considered as a temporary solution and other measures should be put in place so that eventually they can be made open again.

In terms of the SDGs would welcome more investment from the many international agencies on this subject and look to create a more robust reporting framework – looking at the size of investments in transport projects the lack of tools and methodologies that take gender into account means that the impact of transport projects on gender is not evaluated well and the majority of gender still seems to be tick in the box. Could we put together a list where work has been successful and ideas can be transferred to other cities – maybe launch a group of leadership mayors (both men and women – I would be happy to approach Sadiq Khan from London..)..

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By: Wikigender

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 08:49:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

Thank you for your great contributions. As we move into our last day, we would like to look at how we move forward in the context of the SDGs and Habitat III.

What will be needed to achieve SDG 5 and 11 to create urban environments that are truly inclusive from women and girls?

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By: Kalpana Viswanath

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 06:24:00 +0000

Hilary, I agree the issue if segregated spaces is contentious. For example, women in Delhi have shared that when they enter the general compartments of the metro, they sometimes face hostility as men feel they should only use the women’s compartment. Having said that, many countries have instituted women only spaces in the subway including Mexico and Tokyo. I think the key is to ensure that this strategy is placed alongside other strategies that work to address women’s lack of safety in public spaces and public transport. ]]>

By: Kalpana Viswanath

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 06:21:00 +0000

Celine, I think its great you have brought up the issue of fear. It is absolutely true that the issue of fear is central in guiding women’s access and inclusion in cities. This fear determines how comfortable they feel moving around the city. Safety audits done around the world show the importance of addressing fear. So women will feel unsafe in dark places and therefore it is important to have well lit cities. Thus while it is important to examine crime and violence, for women, it is equally important to analyse fear. ]]>

By: Kathryn Travers

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 23:39:00 +0000

I agree that there is a greater need to diversify the way we engage men and boys. We are increasingly seeing two forms of trying to engage men in making transportation safer for women and girls – the first is training of drivers and transit authorities, and the second is more passive – campaigns to address bystander apathy. Many of the challenges we see in transit affect both men and women – but in different ways (overcrowding, pushing, pickpocketing). In many areas, a culture shift is needed to effect change more broadly. What other ideas do people have for engaging men and boys? ]]>

By: Hilary_Murphy

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 19:15:00 +0000

Really enjoying the discussion so far! As the controversial subject of women only spaces has been raised by Kalpana, I am curious to know if anyone has any examples of how this may have successfully been used as a stepping stone to safer mobility for women. I also agree that it is not a sustainable solution, and the segregation of women to dedicated carriages/buses etc. can potential place women for whom the option is not available at greater risk and sends confusing messages as to where the onus of safety lies. Has anyone got examples of where this practice contributed in the short term to a more inclusive and sustainable outcome?

Also, I would like to add commentary to the points previously raised about including men and boys in the conversation. While it is broadly agreed this inclusion is an essential component of safe and inclusive public transport systems and cities of the future, strong examples of the means and mechanisms for including men and boys are difficult to come by. I feel the ‘how’ warrants substantial attention so as to take care not to generalise all men as dangerous, while also reaching male cohorts who require genuine support in understanding the problem and their role in addressing it. Keeping blame (as a repellent) under control and keeping accountability at the fore, is a delicate balance -particularly in societies where cultural factors have influenced the identity of masculinity as dominant and guided the socialisation of boys through adolescence and into adulthood.

While I acknowledge the importance of public and powerful condemnation of perpetrators in raising awareness of long silenced issues, I sometimes wonder if within the prevention narrative, the rhetoric is detrimentally blame orientated – which does not serve to attract men and boys to the table. I am interested in practices and examples of how a language of accountability, where values are safely explored, questioned and forged could be a more constructive space to invite men and boys to the table.

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By: Heather Allen

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 16:52:00 +0000

I would like to add to the discussions about women and personal security – in my work I have found that women and men have very different expectations and concerns when it comes to personal security. This was confirmed recently when I held some focus groups in Yichang in China and there was a really interesting discussion in a mixed group of men and women.

This also seems to be reflected in the different types of crimes that men and women seem to experience as mentioned by Cecile – men suffer more than women from violent crime, while women suffer sexual harassment and petty crime /loss more. But as women tend not to report the crimes or incidents that happen it may look as if they suffer less. In the majority of the surveys it is often stated as their major concern so it is difficult to unpick if this is just a concern or if women actually suffer more from petty crime but it may not appear so as they report it less often. This lack of reporting is due to a variety of reasons including a lack of time as women are often trip chaining and making multipurpose trips (dropping off children, shopping etc on way to or from work), as well as having a stronger feeling that it was in some their fault (than men) and a low regard for the authorities to either sensitively with their grievance or with any great effect. This makes it quite complicated to understand – and as women often do not take part in the stakeholder processes in an effective manner we know less about it. Just because less is known it does not mean that it does not occur – indeed from the statistics that are coming out about concerns about sexual harassment it seems that this is a much larger problem that we may have initially thought.

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By: Céline Monnier

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 15:21:00 +0000

Hi Kalpana,

As you say, sexual harassment on public transport is a common experience for women. A study that was published last year in France showed that women were less victims of crime than men in public transport but they experimented fear of crime a lot more. The study could show that the fear of crime comes from daily harassments, for instance sexists comments that were not considered in the statistics. Consequently, women would (all of them!) modify their mobility patterns, going from vigilance to avoidance of using public transport. The study shows that women avoid using certain lines their consider dangerous or traveling by themselves at night, and modify the way their dress (the study is available here in French http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/Les-violences-faites-aux-femmes,42492.html).

Therefore it is crucial that, when discussing how crime affect women in public transport, we do not consider only crime statistics, but also how their behaviors are modified because of fear of crime. Prevention measures should focus on both those aspects.

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