Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what routes are available for women to raise concerns on pedestrian routes identified by them as unsafe.

The Department for Transport is committed to improving the safety of women at every step of every journey, as part of the government’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.

The Department is currently updating Manual for Streets, our key piece of design guidance on creating streets for people. Last year the Department ran a call for evidence on personal safety measures in streets and public spaces. This was to find out more about how people, particularly women, feel unsafe using the street and experience harassment, intimidation or unwanted sexual behaviour in public spaces. The aim was to gather information to understand the problem, identify possible solutions, to inform the advice in the updated Manual for Streets.

Responsibility for traffic management, including street design for pedestrians, rests with the relevant local authority, as they are best placed to consider how local needs can be effectively met. It is entirely a matter for individual authorities to decide on the nature and scope of policies and to balance the needs of residents, emergency services, local businesses and those who work in and visit the areas.

In September 2021, Government launched the pilot of an online tool, StreetSafe, which enables the public to anonymously report public places where they feel unsafe because of environmental issues, for example street lighting, or because of the behaviour of others.

To date, the tool has received almost 14,000 reports. These have been used by local policing teams to work with local authorities and community partnerships to inform targeted safety activities.