By Soraya Smaoun

In South Africa, one woman is raped every 26 seconds, and only one rape in 36 is reported to the police. In the United States, a woman is physically abused every 9 seconds, and in France, 7 per cent of all rapes occur in the family. In Papua New Guinea, national statistics show that on average, 67 per cent of married women have been the victims of violence inflicted on them by their husbands. In Latin America, one of the most alarming manifestations of violence against women is homicide. In Mexico, according to Amnesty International, around 370 homicides of women have been registered in 10 years.

These are just a sampling of the statistics of horror, of the violence women have to contend with daily around the world. The list goes on. Compared to men, women are particularly prone to various forms of violence, whether in the privacy of their own homes, on a city street or anywhere else.

In the city, the question of violence is multifaceted, and the issue of primary importance is that of the suitability of public areas for women. Cities need to be more women-friendly. Planners need to consider the comfort and well being of women in the city.

We need to realise that intimidation, sexual harassment, rape, or sexual aggression of any kind considerably inhibit the ability of women to move about a city. They are targets of violence because they are women. This constant vulnerability perpetuates their position in society.

Angela King, UN Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, said: “Violence Against Women, an all too widespread phenomenon, is an especially shameful violation which effectively deprives women of all their rights. So long as it remains unchecked, we cannot honestly claim to be making progress towards our objectives of equality, development and peace. Action to enable women and girls to live a life free from violence is thus a central feature of the struggle for sustainable development…”

During the 1970s in North America, the plight of women in the urban environment became a topic of concern among researchers. In Europe, the Charter on Women in Cities in 1995, also raised the problem generating much debate on citizenship and cities.

The Habitat II City Summit conference in Istanbul in June 1996, was an important turning point. After the World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), the City Summit placed great importance on women’s concerns, leading to a series of commitments by national governments within the framework of the Habitat Programme. (Paragraph 46).

Women’s Safety Awards, as a direct outcome of the Montreal Conference in 2002, are designed to elicit and reward good practices and municipal policies relating to women’s safety. The focus of the Award is institutional change at the municipal level by showcasing ‘good practices and policies’ and disseminating information on “what works”. In 2004, there were 20 award winners.

In a preamble to the City Summit, the first World Assembly of Cities and Local Authorities, invited city associations to commit themselves, inter alia, to “promoting and ensuring the full participation of women in the decision-making process at a municipal level by taking necessary measures for them to share power and authority”.

UN-HABITAT Safer Cities Programme recognises the crucial role of local authorities in preventing violence against women. Based on its international experience, it has translated this into the following programme areas:

Integrating a gender-based approach in policies and programmes. These include sensitisation campaigns, services and shelters for women, and improving the city’s physical environment in to make it safer.

Promoting a better understanding of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and the development of adequate tools. This includes the collection of desegregated data. The involvement of gender issues in urban management policies and access to data broken down by sex and age are essential if cities are to meet women’s needs. A gender-based approach can only be viable if it is based on the experience of the women themselves.

Qualitative surveys on violence against women have been conducted in Nairobi, Yaounde, Dar es Salaam and several South African cities.

The UN-HABITAT programme also provides for Safety Audits and Exploratory Walks. The Women Safety Audit is based on the fact that women fear crime far more than men. It involves exploratory walks in the field by small groups, mainly women. At each specific site, participants show where the potential for a crime is high or where they feel unsafe. This is an effective way of promoting community safety and participation. Safety audits, based on the Canadian experience, were adapted to the reality of many cities in Africa, Latin America and Asia and the Pacific.

Promoting partnerships between all concerned stakeholders under the coordinating role of local government.

Promoting the documentation and exchange of practices and lessons learnt as well as Women City networks. Significant conferences were held in Montreal (1st International seminar on Women’s Safety, 2002), Kampala (A Regional Dialogue on Preventing GBV, 2003) and Bogota (Safer Cities for Women and Girls, 2004). They led to the development of international and regional networks on Women and Cities and have proven to be particularly useful in defining the role and mandate of local authorities in this area.

Soraya Smaoun is an urban safety expert with UN-HABITAT’s Urban Development Branch.