Women’s Safety Assessment of public spaces in the ACT

Women and girls are the best sources of information on when and where they feel safe, so it important to obtain information from them about what factors make them feel unsafe and to understand which public spaces in the ACT may need improving. 
This Women’s Safety Assessment provides a range of questions for women to consider and use in assessing how safe they feel using public spaces in the ACT (including roads, pathways, parks, public car parks, public squares, transport routes and access to public buildings).  

You can use the results of this safety assessment to help make public spaces in the ACT safer by letting the ACT Office for Women know about of public spaces where there are concerns identified by sending a notification to women@act.gov.au.

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Location:    __________________________________

1. LIGHTING

What is the lighting like in the area? Is the lighting distributed evenly?  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are all the lights working? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is the lighting obscured by trees, bushes, structures, or posts? 
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ISOLATION (feeling alone in the area)

Does the area feel isolated or are there people around? Does this change at different times throughout the day?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Did you feel isolated in a particular area because you cannot see or hear people around you? 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Could you be seen and heard by others if you called out for help? 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. POSSIBLE ENTRAPMENT SITES

Can you clearly see what is up ahead? If not, why? For example Is your visibility obstructed by: 
•	Bushes or hedges 
•	Trees 
•	Walls or building corners
•	Small sheds or buildings 
•	Sharp (blind) corners or bends
•	Cars or other vehicles
•	Other _______________________________________________________

Are there confined areas where you would be hidden from view?  For example:

•	Between garbage bins
•	Behind small sheds or buildings 
•	Doorways, courtyards, or laneways
•	Isolated parking areas
•	Isolated bus stops
•	Other _______________________________________________________

Are there places where someone could hide without being seen? For example: 
•	Between garbage bins
•	Beside small sheds or buildings
•	In alleys or lanes
•	In recessed doorways or entrances
•	In a construction site
•	In overgrown brush and weeds
•	Other  _____________________________________________________

Do you believe that you could easily escape from an unsafe situation at this location? If not why not?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Would you feel safe in this location if you were alone at night?  If not why not?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. MAINTENANCE
How well is the space maintained? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 	
Does this place seem cared for? If not, why?
•	Litter lying around
•	Graffiti, or racist and/or sexist images or slogans on the walls/fences or bus stop shelters
•	Signs of intentional damage or destruction
•	Light bulbs not replaced
•	Other   _________________________

5. ESCAPE ROUTES

How easy would it be to escape to a safe place if you needed to?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is there more than one escape route? 
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUMMING UP YOUR FINDINGS

OVERALL
What are your overall feelings about the safety of the location? Did you feel safe?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

Are there any specific areas in the space where you felt more vulnerable? If yes, where and why?  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you have any specific recommendations for making it feel safer?  What improvements would you like to see? 
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

Are there any other comments/ particular concerns you would like to share with us about safety in this location? 
________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

You can help Women’s Health Matters to advocate for improved safety for women in ACT’s public spaces by sending us the results of your survey by:

•	Scanning the Assessment results and emailing them to admin@womenshealthmatters.org.au ; or
•	Posting the results to PO Box 385, Mawson, ACT, 2607.