1. Urban planning is not neutral.

2. Enhancing women’s right to the city is a process of
• Changing the nature of cities, the ways they are conceived,
designed, planned
• Recognising the intersecting vulnerabilities faced by
women - class, ethnicity, age, migrant status etc
• Understanding and addressing the violence and
discrimination faced by women in public spaces
• Addressing a range of stakeholders - government, police,
civil society – to build sustainable interventions

3. Women’s Daily Lives in the City

4. Public spaces need to be designed
to foster gender and other forms
of equity and promote people’s
engagement and inclusion,
especially the more vulnerable
groups.

5. Safety perceptions are linked to
women capacities to gain
autonomy and appropriate public
spaces.
Some of the spatial factors that
influence safety perceptions are:
visibility, clear and alternative
routes, variety of uses and
activities, and the presence of
diverse groups of people

6. The availability of public
transportation and the types of
spaces that support mobility are
critical factors that determine
our quality of life. The city
should offer a wide variety of
options, with priority given to
pedestrian options within a
mixed-use urban fabric.
Public transportation should
also respond to diverse
schedules and needs.

7. Public participation is essential to
understand and give visibility to
what happens in certain spaces, to
document community knowledge
about the place, and in particular,
to capture the daily experience of
women.
We understand participation as an
interdisciplinary and
mainstreaming process,

8. Components of safety strategy
Generating knowledge
and evidence
Policing &Legal
Framework, Support to
victims
Women's safety audits
Research studies
FGD’s
Monitoring and Evaluation
Gender inclusive urban
design and infrastructure
and delivery of services
Improved response of police
Work with community based
mechanisms of justice
Advocacy on law reforms
Such as parks, toilets, bus
stops, streets, markets, public
transport
Supporting community
initiatives
Anti VAW campaigns
Women and youth collectives
Working with schools and university
Addressing intersection of
vulnerabilities

9. Strategic areas of intervention
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Urban planning and
design of public spaces
Provision and
maintenance of public
infrastructure and
services
Public transport
Policing
Legislation, justice &
support to victims
Civic awareness and
partnership-building
Education

10. Baseline Study: Delhi
10

11. Salient Findings
Harassment occurs during day and night and in all kinds of public spaces,
both secluded and crowded
School and college girl students in the 15-19 age-group are most vulnerable
Public transport, buses and roadsides reported as most vulnerable spaces
Poor infrastructure also seen among the major reasons behind the lack of safety
Almost 2 out of every 3 women, including girls reported facing incidents of sexual
harassment (SH) between 2-5 times in the past year (i.e. 2009)
Almost 9 out of 10 respondents witnessed SH incidents - and 70% men, 55%
women preferred not to intervene/get involved
Around 68 % women/girls reported that they did react to harassment in some
form, confiding in family/friends, shouting back, breaking the silence..
However, less than 1% approached the police

12. Safety Audits

13. Young Women conducting safety audits

14. 14

15. Safetipin: a mobile app for
collecting data on safety

16. Safetipin

17. Men’s urinal near railway station

18. Road near Delhi Gate

19. At Badarpur Metro Station at 8 pm

20. Mehrauli Bus Terminal

21. State of Pavements

22. Bus Stop after Dark

24. WHAT MAKES THE AREA UNSAFE?
Obstruction by Parking
Obstruction by Toilet
750mm High market street
450mm High Footpath

28. Working with the Delhi Transport Corporation
‘Training 40, 000 work force through 47 instructors’
Module on women’s safety in curriculum

30. Safety in Transport

31. Women’s compartment in Delhi Metro

34. Barcelona

35. THANK YOU