WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

WOMEN'S SAFETY & SECURITY IN CITIES, IN HABITATS

 

http://huairou.org/world-habitat-day-improving-womens-mobility-thriving-cities

The United Nations designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter. The theme of this year's World Habitat Day is Urban Mobility.

Huairou Commission - A message from HC Chair Jan Peterson

For women to be empowered and able to thrive, they must be able to move. People talk about mobility, but they're not talking about women's mobility. At the individual level, when we talk about women's mobility, we're talking about being able to drive a car or go out at night, to be able to carry their goods to the market to earn a livelihood without fear of being robbed or attacked, to be able to swim to safety in a flood or tsunami.

 

At the community level, improving the social fabric of where they live is vital for women to be able to move safely. Women first fought to be able to feel safe in the privacy of their homes, and now they're working to make public space safe for women. 

 

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http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=303&cid=6849

 

 

 

WOMEN'S SAFETY & SECURITY IN CITIES

 

In many cities around the world, women and girls still have a lot to worry about when it comes to their personal safety.

“On average, violence makes up at least 25 to 30 per cent of urban crime and women, especially in developing countries, are twice as likely to be victims of violent aggression (including domestic violence) as men.

UN-HABITAT believes that local authorities and city management have a crucial role to play in the prevention of violence against women, both in public and private spaces, whether it be harassment or attacks outside the home, or domestic abuse behind closed doors.

Local authorities can improve the city’s physical environment—for example, through better street lighting, building better alternatives to dark and secluded walkways, or even positioning bus stops in safer areas.  Effective interventions often promote consultation and participation from women themselves.

Local governments can also make cities safer by mainstreaming gender in their crime prevention policies and programmes, especially through sensitisation campaigns, training and development of services for women affected by violence.  These programmes have a role in changing attitudes and behaviour that condone and perpetuates violence against women. 
 
UN-HABITAT’s Safer Cities Programme contributes to a better understanding of gender-based violence on the city level and the development of adequate tools to prevent it.  Their activities include the following:

  • Collection of gender-disaggregated data about safety and security
  • Conducting violence against women surveys
  • Conducting safety audits and exploratory walks
  • Integrating a gender-based approach in city policy and planning
  • Promoting partnerships between all stakeholders on the local level to fight gender-based violence
  • Promoting women’s participation and consultations in each phase of city planning
  • Training of local authorities on gender-based approaches in policies and programmes
  • Promoting the documentation and exchange of good practices and lessons learned.

Highlights of recent gender mainstreaming work include the following:

  • Awards to local authorities on safety for women and girls, initiated in partnership with Women in Cities International;
  • A global assessment of women’s safety programmes, policies and tools to promote women’s safety on the global, regional, national and local levels (conducted in partnership with the Huairou Commission, Women in Cities International and Red Mujer y Habitat);
  • Training on the women’s safety audits methodology in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Abidjan, Warsaw, Durban and Kingston;
  • A comparative analysis of women’s safety audits to inform the development of guidelines on conducting women’s safety audits for use by cities and local authorities;

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WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

UN-Habitat - http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=3457

 

STATE OF WOMEN IN CITIES 2012-2013 - GENDER & THE PROSPERITY OF CITIES

 

 

 

There are two main standpoints that propagate the benefits of urbanisation. One is that cities are associated with opportunities for wealth generation. Concomitant to this is the idea that urban women supposedly enjoy greater social, economic, political opportunities and freedoms than their rural counterparts. However, the notable gender gaps in labour and employment, decent work, pay, tenure rights, access to and accumulation of assets, personal security and safety and representation in formal structures of urban governance, show that women are often the last to benefit from the prosperity of cities.

The State of Women in Cities 2012/2013 Report focuses on Gender and the Prosperity of Cities. The Report examines the gender dimensions of the defining characteristics of a prosperous city- productivity, infrastructure development, quality of life, equity and social inclusion and environmental sustainability. It provides a conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between gender and prosperity and also reviews policies and institutional framework relevant for mainstreaming gender concerns in cities.