Safe City Initiatives

Safety has emerged as an important issue for governments/non-government agencies across the world. It refers to the duty and function of the state/co-actors to ensure the safety of its citizens, organizations and institutions against threats to their well-being as well as the traditional functions of law and order. With more than half the global population today living in urban areas, safe city is increasingly being considered essential in ensuring secure living and prosperity. Urban planning standards, byelaws and the design of public spaces play a major role in the prevention of sexual harassment and violence against women outside their homes and workplaces.  

Through Safe City Initiative project, we will create environments that offer lesser opportunities for violence against women. Women have both higher levels of fear of crime and are more at risk and insecure in public spaces that are rendered unsafe by virtue of their bad design, isolation or inadequate and poor maintenance. Furthermore, many women in Indore work in public spaces, for example women hawkers and street vendors, and many live on the streets as well. Improved planning, for example by elimination of dark alleys, dead ends and ‘entrapment areas’; removal of boundary walls and ensuring ‘eyes on the street’, and putting in place hawker-friendly policies, can help in making cities safer for women.