280,000 women in the East Midlands don't feel safe in parks
A charity's calling on local authorities and landowners to improve access and security
Almost 15% of women and girls don't feel safe in parks in the East Midlands, new figures show.
A YouGov poll, carried out on behalf of the charity Keep Britain Tidy, revealed that 280,000 women in Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Rutland disagreed with the statement that they felt safe in green spaces.
The charity's now calling on local authorities and landowners to improve access and security, by taking on board recommendations from a recent University of Leeds report informed by over 100 women and girls.
Some of the recommendations include:
- Parks managers provide a single point of contact about safety concerns, and how to report harassment or violence against women and girls in parks through multiple channels of communication, including on park signage.
- Local authorities and the police collect and share data on safety concerns and incidents of violence against women and girls in and around parks to feed into holistic, multiagency responses (e.g. via the ‘Street Safe’ app31).
- Parks managers work with police to develop strategies to empower park users to be active bystanders willing to intervene in the event of witnessing harassment or problematic behaviour in parks.
The charity’s Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said:
"We know that if women and girls feel unsafe, they are less likely to use, enjoy and benefit from our vital green spaces - and that will no doubt have knock on effects on health and wellbeing.
"As the operator of the Green Flag Award for high-quality parks, we believe parks and play spaces should be designed and managed in a way that makes them welcoming to women and girls. If our parks are safe for women and girls, they are safe for everyone.
"Good design and good management is key to creating green spaces that are inclusive, accessible and safe for everyone in the community and we would urge everyone with a role to play in managing and supporting our parks to follow our new guidance."