Having a safe city or community for women and girls means safety everywhere – online, in their homes, and on the streets of their town.

Data that shows that women and girls do not feel safe walking the streets at night, including being physically active at nighttime. But we need to ensure that Brisbane is the safest it can be coming into the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympic Games and for a long-lasting legacy for Brisbane and Queensland.

Through a partnership between Zonta Club of Brisbane and Queensland Walks and in collaboration with the University of Queensland and Southbank Corporation we are highlighting the need for safe streets for women and girls piloting the process for collection of valuable citizen science data in a first series of night walks in Brisbane called the Safe Cities Night Walk on 10 August.

Our aim is to focus on safety for women and girls in the public realm – at transport hubs, in the streets of our town including neighbourhoods and urban hubs such as South Bank and the CBD – so they can be safe to walk where they want.

The best way to understand a place is to walk and talk to the community who live there. That’s why we are doing a series of Night Walks with local communities to understand experience of local place at night, and what is needed to create more inclusive and safe public spaces.

This walk will lead to future facilitated walks with planning experts and professionals partnering for change including global design consultants Arup and its experts on designing spaces for women will help to ensure that we design safe public spaces through urban tactics such as lighting design.

We held our walk on August 10 with a 5.30pm start to walk 6pm-8pm at South Bank Brisbane.

We were delighted to partner with Queensland Walks and to also have the assistance of the University of Queensland and Arup. Thank you also to South Bank Corporation for hosting us. 

Queensland Walks is a community organization that advocates for more walkable places. Queensland Walks is dedicated to promoting walking and active transportation, and offers a diverse range of programs and events aimed at fostering a culture of walking and encouraging people to embrace the benefits of this simple yet powerful activity. With a strong focus on enhancing the pedestrian experience and advocating for walkable communities, Queensland Walks has become a leading force in encouraging individuals, families, and communities to incorporate walking into their daily lives.