“Up to 85 per cent of Bangladeshi women have experienced sexual violence and 35 per cent of Indian women don’t feel safe at night,” explains Deputy Executive of ActionAid Australia Michelle Higelin.
“Cities are places of opportunity for women, but they are also places of danger and violence.”
In places like Bangladesh and India, says Higelin, infrastructure and public services have been unable to keep up with rapid globalisation and massive urban population growth, and particularly the needs of women. Higelin states, “Governments must increase spending on infrastructure whether it is traffic lights, or the maintenance of roads so women can access appropriate health facilities when their wellbeing is threatened.”
That’s why, last month, ActionAid (a not-for-profit international development organisation that operates in 45 countries) launched their Safe Cities for Women Campaign at UTS. The centrepiece of Safe Cities is a public exhibition of images, currently on display in the Tower foyer, by renowned photographer Stephanie Simcox.
The photographs capture the experiences of everyday women in Bangladesh and Cambodia as they work, study, move and live around their cities.
“The exhibition highlights how sexual violence, harassment and discrimination impact women’s lives and consequently their opportunities to succeed,” reveals Higelin
She hopes viewers will not only gain an insight into the dangers women face in these cities, but also appreciate how fortunate Sydneysiders are living in the world’s sixth safest city.
The exhibition is being sponsored by UTS’s Equity and Diversity Unit (E&DU). “The Equity and Diversity Unit, with its commitment to social justice, human rights and gender equality, firmly support this campaign,” explains E&DU’s Administrative Assistant Spence Messih. “We have an obligation to maintain a safe, comfortable learning space at UTS and support safer environments and cities for women and girls to live in.”
Says Higelin, the Safe Cities for Women campaign aims “to make streets, public places, work places, learning institutions and transportation safer, so that women and girls are able to share in the vast benefits of their cities. We as global citizens need to demand for safer cities for not just women but for everyone and condemn sexual violence against women living in developing countries.”
ActionAid’s Safe Cities for Women will be open to the public from 9am to 9pm until Monday 30 November. For more information, visit actionaid.org/australia
- In October, ActionAid launched their Safe Cities for Women Campaign at UTS; the centrepiece of which is a public exhibition of images by photographer Stephanie Simcox.
- The exhibition, sponsored by UTS’s Equity and Diversity Unit, aims to make streets, public places, work places, learning institutions and transportation safer, so that women and girls are able to share in the vast benefits of their cities