Practical guidelines which will help to make parks and green spaces safer for women and girls across
the UK are being launched at a conference organised by the University of Leeds.
It follows a recent study of a cross-section of more than a hundred women and girls from West
Yorkshire which found that most believed their local parks to be unsafe.
The research – funded by the Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin and carried out by researchers at
the University – concluded that feeling vulnerable in parks is a barrier that needs to be urgently
addressed to ensure that women and girls feel able to use, enjoy and benefit from them.
We want West Yorkshire to be the safest place to be a woman or a girl
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin
Informed by the research findings, the guidance aims to address that barrier with a range of practical measures, including creating openness and visibility, escape routes, better lighting and the positive
presence of park staff and members of the community.
The document is a partnership between Mayor Brabin, the University of Leeds, Make Space for Girls
and Keep Britain Tidy, and is aimed at park managers, local authorities, police and community groups.
Dr Anna Barker, an Associate Professor in Criminal Justice & Criminology in the University of Leeds’
School of Law led the original research and organised the conference. She said: “In Britain, women
are three times more likely than men to feel unsafe in a park during the day.
“This is worse after dark, when as many as four out of five women in Britain say that they would feel
unsafe walking alone in a park, compared to two out of five men.
“All these factors mean that women and girls are less likely to use parks than men and boys, a situation
which has a significant impact on their lives. Our guidelines, covering ten principles for design and
management, can enable decision-makers to enact change.”
Other suggestions in the guidance include:
• Organising activities and events to extend women’s use of parks, including after dark.
• Making sure that the surrounding area and approach routes to parks all feel safe, minimising
enclosed and hidden entrances.
• Creating a sense of belonging through spaces and facilities which give diverse groups of women and
girls the sense that they are welcome.
• Designing the placement of facilities, paths and features so that they encourage use by women,
maximise visibility, and are easy to navigate.
• Involving women and girls in the design of parks.
Alison Lowe OBE, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, and Dr Anna Barker at the safer parks
conference
Dr Anna Barker, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, and Alison Lowe OBE,
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in West Yorkshire
The guidance was launched as part of a two-day conference entitled Women and Girls’ Safety in
Parks: Lessons from Research and Practice. The opening session was chaired by Alison Lowe OBE,
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in West Yorkshire, and the guidance itself was introduced by the
Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin, who funded the work as part of her Safety of Women and Girls
Strategy.
West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin said: “We want West Yorkshire to be the safest place to be a
woman or a girl. This guidance will help make our parks and wonderful green spaces safer for them.
“I’m calling on local leaders across the country to join us and put them into practice so that we can
make real change together.”
Welcoming spaces
Others attending included representatives from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Women in Sport, Keep
Britain Tidy, and Make Space for Girls.
Imogen Clark, Trustee and Co-Founder of Make Space for Girls said: “Safety is a big obstacle to teenage girls using parks. We’re really pleased that this guidance considers safety in the round –
making spaces which will be more welcoming for teenage girls.”
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chef Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said: “It’s critical that we understand
what makes women and girls feel safe or unsafe across our green spaces and what needs to change
to make them feel able to use their local park.”
“Our own research already shows that 70% of people in urban areas do not have access to good
quality green space, rising to 75.8% in the most deprived areas. When coupled with women’s concerns
about using those few green spaces they have access to, it means there is a real inequality. We must
tackle it collectively, and as a priority.”
“We are proud to be a part of this important and much needed project.”
The organisations behind the new guidelines hope decision-makers will now review all of their parks in
partnership with the police and engage with women and girls specifically on safety, ensuring that those
who do not currently use the parks are included.
They are also calling for the new guidance and the results of their discussions with women and girls to
be incorporated into management plans for parks and green spaces and reviewed regularly.