Consultation launched to make active travel safer for women and girls
Strengthening guidance to help make walking, wheeling and cycling routes safer for women and girls in Wales is one of the features in a consultation which began this week.
The Active Travel Act Guidance is being revised to further improve the quality of walking, wheeling and cycling schemes across Wales. The aim is that they are accessible and designed to be suitable for all to use.
The updated guidance considers safety, comfort, and visibility for women and girls in public spaces, including lighting, toilets & changing facilities, seating and surveillance.
It also considers whether designs should have increased separation and priority for people walking, wheeling or cycling, taking into account concerns for more vulnerable people.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates said: “I want to see transport easier to use by everyone, and that includes walking, wheeling and cycling. It’s important the views and needs of all of us are taken into account, so everyone has the opportunity to make the most of the schemes available.
“As part of the consultation we’ll be particularly interested to hear the views of disabled people, women and young people.”
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice Jane Hutt said: “Every woman should feel safe to run, walk, or simply exist in public spaces without fear of harassment. It’s not up to women to change their behaviour or limit their lives – it’s up to men to reflect on and address their own behaviours, and that is the focus of our Sound campaign.
“As we approach White Ribbon Day it’s fitting that we focus how we can make things safer for women and girls, recognising that routes which work for them work for everybody.”
Olivia Browne of Sunday Run Club Cardiff said: “Everyone has a right to feel safe walking, cycling or running outdoors at any time of the day or night.
“But too frequently women and girls feel afraid to use public spaces as a direct result of their lived experience, for which they are often blamed. This limits their freedoms and choices as citizens.
“More can be done to ensure travel routes feel accessible for women.”
More information about the Active Travel Act guidance consultation can be found here.
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…. give them a chaperone? Say, a male family member? There’s no small amount of irony here that this is exactly what Islamic countries require such as Saudi Arabia. Because men who have been watching far too much Andrew Tate videos and such, have decided they don’t need to abide by social etiquette any more… or even laws. There’s been a lot of talk about Muslim men, from countries like Afghanistan being the main perpetrators of such problems by the Right wing political sphere, but this hides the true story that ethnicity doesn’t really play a part. There are a… Read more »
It’s not safe so I can only hope the advice will be for women to travel together in groups. Sad but true. Unfortunately you get very light sentences for sexual assault, rape etc so offenders are back on the streets to re-offend in a short space of time. Oh and it doesn’t help that Wales (and the UK) is dragging it’s heals in terms of the clear SC clarification and protecting women’s spaces.