Partnerships for women’s safety in the city: “four legs for a good table”

Ten years after the first Reclaim the Night marches in the late 1970s began to galvanize women around the right to move freely in public and private space without fear of violence, a local governance-based movement to promote women’s safety developed in European and Canadian cities and was later diffused to Africa, Asia and Latin America. This movement drew on urban planning and design as a means to promote women’s empowerment. Partnerships developed around a framework we have titled “four legs for a good table”: community advocates to push for change; local politicians to galvanize government resources; “femocrats” to capture local policies and programmes for emancipatory ends; and researchers to gather evidence around the problem and to document efforts around solutions. This paper traces the collective history of this loosely coordinated movement. Focusing on three case studies, we mark the advancements of theoretical frameworks and practical tools as the women’s safety movement internationalized, and reflect on achievements and challenges.