Government Announces New Guidance to Make Streets Safer for Women and Girls
I am delighted to see that the Government have today announced that they will be issuing new guidance for local authorities outlining how councils can design their streets to be safer for women and girls.
This practical guidance will set out the need for improvements around things like better street lighting and will draw on best practice from across UK towns and cities and around the world. The publication of this new guidance will be accompanied by training sessions for council workers on how to put it into practice locally.
In January, I led a debate in Parliament on this very issue and I am incredibly grateful that the Department for Transport has listened to the stories of women and girls up and down this country who are being pushed out of the public realm for fear of their safety. Given almost 9 in 10 women feel unsafe walking alone after dark, it is clear that much more needs to be done to tackle it.