Safety of travel is women’s big issue

GLOBAL SURVEY: IT KEEPS THEM FROM WORKING

Risks, cost and time taken to get around cities are cited as obstacles.

London

Safety is the biggest concern for women using public and private transport in five of the world’s biggest commuter cities, according to a global poll released yesterday as improving city access for women becomes a major focus globally.

A Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of 1 000 women in London, New York, Mexico City, Tokyo and Cairo found 52% of respondents overall cited safety as their main worry, with women in Mexico City the most fearful about safety.

Almost three in every four women in Mexico City lacked confidence they could travel without facing sexual harassment and abuse or sexual violence, with Cairo a close second. This compared to one in four women in the other three cities.

The time it took to travel around the city was named as the second biggest concern, cited by 33% of women. Time was the biggest worry in New York, with twothirds saying it influenced their decision to take or stay in a job, while the cost of transport concerned women in London most with nearly three in four women saying it was expensive. The poll found 56% of women globally said ride-hailing apps had improved their ability to get around cities.

City authorities are looking at ways to ensure women have safe, efficient transport to reach jobs, education and healthcare in a bid to help tackle inequality, poverty and get more women in the workforce.

There is also growing concern in the #MeToo climate that transport networks are magnets for sexual predators. “It is very rare to find a group of women in any city that don’t have concerns about safety and it is important for planners to think about that when designing a transport system,” said Jemilah Magnusson, spokesperson from the US-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. – Reuters