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Safer cities for Girls

Safer Cities

Safer Cities for Girls is a gender transformative programme with the support of Plan India, working to tackle unequal power relations and challenge harmful social norms that perpetuate insecurity and exclusion of girls in cities. The programme works across three levels of change:

(1) With governments and institutions to influence municipal and national actors and policy makers to make laws and city services more receptive and inclusive to girls’ safety .
(2) With families and communities to promote a supportive social environment that promotes girls’ safety and inclusion in cities; and
(3) With girls and boys themselves to engage them to be active citizens and agents of change by building capacities, strengthening assets, and creating opportunities for meaningful participation. By working to confront social and cultural norms that allow for the manifestation of unequal gender power relations across these three levels, girls’ and women’s lives in cities will be transformed, reflected in a fundamental shift of their social positions.

Girls of Holambi kalan Delhi feel unsafe and excluded. For instance, only 4% of girls involved in the baseline research said that they always feel safe when in public spaces, and 54% of girls reported experiences of sexual harassment when using transportation services.

4 groups were created (2 girls groups with  50 girl participants) and 2 boys groups (50 boys participants) and regular interactive meetings were organised on rights, safety and gender based violence in public spaces. The program has created a core group of young girls and boys as leaders who continue to lead the project and participate in the program activities on a regular basis. The Plan global training curriculum “Champions of Change” was used to conduct trainings of young boys and girls. Safety audits were conducted to document safe and unsafe spaces in the intervention area. The safety audits in these locations indicated poor maintenance of public infrastructure (pavements, street lights, water and sanitation services, parks, dark and unlit streets) which contributes to making spaces unsafe and unusable for women/ girls. The project has engaged with a range of stakeholders like girls, boys, parents and caregivers and local authorities (e.g., municipal authorities, public transport managers, police etc.) to confront social and cultural norms and unequal gender power relations which hinder girls’ safety in cities. The recommendations will be disseminated to the local stakeholders to initiate youth led advocacy for community level change.