Overview
Since Plan International Australia launched its Free to Be map in Sydney last month, giving women a platform to highlight safe and unsafe areas around the city, it's attracted over 2600 entries.
With double the number of respondents of a similar map previously launched in Melbourne, it's a huge response — and one that has enabled the NGO to pull together a list of preliminary safety 'hotspots', which it has released to the public.
The unsafe spots, which attracted the most 'sad' pins on the Sydney map, include Kings Cross, King Street, Wentworth Park, Pyrmont Bridge and the stretch of George Street near Town Hall. A big number of these negative pins around key bus and train stations also highlighted major issues surrounding safety on public transport.
On a more positive note, a list of 'happy' spots has also been revealed — these include Central Park, the UNSW and Macquarie University campuses, Circular Quay and the ferries, Oxford Street and McIver Ladies Baths in Coogee.
Alongside the list of hotspots, Plan International Australia has also released its Sexism in the City research report, which surveyed 500 young Sydney women to get right to the guts of street harassment issues. Some of the confronting findings include more than a third of respondents experiencing harassment for the first time between the ages of 11 and 15; those harassed on a regular basis being twice as likely to report experiencing anxiety, depression or ongoing mental health issues as a result; and alarming rates of women being harassed in front of bystanders without anyone stepping in to help.
Contributions to the map have now closed, and the full results should be released shortly.
Updated: June 2, 2018.