Hotspots on the map include near the safe-injecting room in Richmond,where respondents report feeling unsafe around drug users,witnessing fights and being verbally abused;Flinders Street Station in the CBD,where one respondent was spat at and another felt like “prey”;and Fitzroy and Grey streets in St Kilda,where respondents complained about poor lighting,aggressive people and the smell of urine.
Respondents,of which 2 per cent identified as neither male or female,also reported areas with winding footpaths,hidden spots,rubbish and vandalism as unsafe.
Areas marked safe included Citizens Park in Richmond,due to bright lighting,wide paths and a “good vibe”,Chinatown in the CBD,which was described as “brightly lit and bustling” and the Bay Trail,along St Kilda Beach,where a respondent wrote they often walked on it in the evening.
Being able to see ahead made 70 per cent of respondents feel safe,while other pedestrians,murals,trees,new buildings and tidy spaces also increased perceptions of safety.
Monash University associate professor Nicole Kalms said while bright lighting wasn’t a cure-all to making an area safe,perceptions of safety were important for inclusivity.
“Is it real risk,is it just their perceptions - it actually doesn’t matter because ... if you’re opting out of using those spaces as a result of that then that actually is a huge opting out of public life,” she said.
“What we’re able to see is that there’s a vigilance,there’s alertness,there’s particular levels of stress that women and gender diverse people are carrying with them.”
Dr Kalms,whose group translated participation information into seven languages,said while anti-social behaviour added to feelings of unsafety,it was important not to stigmatise people with social problems.
Brunswick resident and occupational therapist Anita Major-Brown,who marked the underpass between Royal and Princes parks as unsafe,said she avoided it at night and advised her three daughters not to use it at all.
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“It’s a one way in one way out sort of path,with a low bridge and with poor lighting,” she said.
“I look over my shoulder when I’m feeling unsafe. I walk faster. I might wrap my hands around my keys in my pocket.
Ms Major-Brown said the close-to-home murders of Jill Meager and Eurydice Dixon had impacted on parent’s perceptions of safety for their children in Brunswick and that her daughters were already growing up fearful.
“[Men are] unaware of how conscious,how cognitively,we think about safety.”
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