Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Women should be safe everywhere, always, but, as two horrific attacks on women running in Mulligans Flat in Tuggeranong earlier this year made painfully clear, that is still not the reality for women here in the ACT or, indeed, across Australia. Like so many Canberrans, I was shocked and saddened by these attacks. In the aftermath I joined hundreds of women who gathered in Mulligans Flat in an act of solidarity. Many of them had their own stories of fear, of constant vigilance and of the daily compromises women make in order to feel safe.

It was the collective voices of these women and their experiences that prompted me to launch the 'Safe. Everywhere. Always.' survey in a bid to give all women and girls in our city an avenue to share their experiences directly with government and, importantly, to tell us what changes they think would make the most meaningful difference to their lives. More than 2½ thousand women and girls in Canberra generously took the time to complete the survey, and their responses are as powerful as they are confronting.

Through the survey, 86.6 per cent of women reported changing their plans or behaviour to stay safe, and 43 per cent of young women aged 15 to 24 take safety precautions every single time they leave home. Civic, Braddon, Dickson, bus interchanges and nature reserves were the most frequently reported unsafe areas. There were 1,164 mentions of inadequate lighting, especially at bus stops, interchanges, parks and pathways. Forty-nine per cent of women said they lacked confidence in current reporting structures, and over 500 women called for education campaigns focused on changing men's attitudes and behaviours.

The women who completed this survey didn't hold back, and I thank them for that. One survey respondent wrote:

As a female runner I take a lot of precautions to stay safe—I have headphones that don't cover my ears so I can hear my surroundings. I will tell someone where I am going and have my location shared for some family and friends. I will only run in daylight, and I will often have my dog with me. Conversely, my male partner doesn't consider these things when he goes out for a run.

Another respondent articulated the frustration many women feel:

I should be able to move through this world without having to adjust my behaviour—sometimes with costs attached such taxis—or devote as much mental energy to planning my route or attire, just so that I feel safe getting from A to B.

This is the lived reality for women not just here in Canberra but across Australia—the mental load of constant vigilance; the financial cost of choosing safer, more expensive transport options; the abandonment of exercise routines and social activities. When women avoid public transport after dark, abandon exercise routines or spend money they can't afford on alternative transport because they fear for their safety, we are failing as a community. When 43 per cent of young women aged 15 to 24 in Canberra take safety precautions every single time they leave home, we are denying an entire generation of young women the freedom to fully participate in city life. The findings in this survey are confronting. Women have identified specific locations where they feel unsafe, like bus stops and parks, and pointed to infrastructure issues that leave them vulnerable, like the lack of lighting.

As a direct result of this survey, I've written to the Chief Minister of the ACT, seeking to work together to improve safety for women in Canberra. I've also written to the CEO of the National Capital Authority, requesting an urgent update on the lighting review which is currently underway, as priorities coming out of the survey focus heavily on improved lighting to move around the city after dark.

Women have told us clearly that they must be taken seriously when they make reports about behaviour that makes them feel unsafe or when they have experienced them. They told us consistently that women's safety is not solely a women's issue. One respondent put it this way:

This is a men's problem—their behaviour is making women feel unsafe. It is a small number of them but it is still men who make us unsafe. The solution needs to involve men advocating and calling out other men.

While we must continue to improve infrastructure, lighting and transport safety, we cannot engineer our way out of a cultural problem. We can improve lighting and take other public-safety steps, but we also have to focus on changing the harmful attitudes towards women. We need to continue to focus on efforts to change men's attitudes and behaviours so that there is no longer a risk of violence for women to fear.

I want to acknowledge every woman and girl who participated in this survey. I know how difficult talking about this can be, so thank you for sharing your experiences of feeling unsafe, of being harassed or threatened and of having to change your behaviour to stay safe. These are not easy stories to tell. Thank you for believing and caring enough to push for change and to push for improvements. I can assure you that your voice matters, your safety matters and that your demands for change will drive action. As your local senator and the federal Minister for Women, I'm committed to taking these results with me as I work for change, because every woman should feel safe and be safe everywhere and always.