Editor's comment:

We have a very special addition to your Star today, courtesy of a supplement created by the next generation of journalists.
What do you think of improving lighting in parks to make it safer for women?What do you think of improving lighting in parks to make it safer for women?
What do you think of improving lighting in parks to make it safer for women?

Women of all ages, but particularly the young, don’t feel safe in our city’s beautiful parks and on our streets.

Now we can tell them not to walk alone or not to take risks but that is punishing potential victims and I can’t think of any other situation when that would be accepted.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Why on earth do we put up with taking away the freedoms of half the population rather than addressing the actual root of the issue?

We have it upside-down and back to front. This shouldn’t be about educating our daughters that they have to protect themselves, it has to be about teaching our sons what is right from wrong. Sadly, that won’t happen overnight.

In fact, I have spoken to women in their 90s who felt under exactly the same threat when they were teenagers as today’s youngsters so this is a long term campaign.

Some times I wonder if we can actually make a genuine change or if there is a large number of men - not all but a lot – who just don’t understand the impact of what they do.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We all have a laugh and a joke about wolf-whistling, cat calling and beeping car homes at young women … but how funny actually is that for those at the receiving end?

Read today’s stories by students from the University of Sheffield and it is clear what a large problem we have. We must take action.

These graduates believe that better lighting would help, but they have done very thorough research and understand there are also negative impacts on the environment.

But, when a group of very intelligent and forward thinking young people tell us something needs to be done, why don’t we just back them?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This is a subject which society has allowed to become complex. It really doesn’t need to be – all men just need to treat all women as they would want their mums, daughters and wives to be treated. And when something that would help is put on the table, we need to act.

I’m not hearing many other alternatives out there and we’re all sick of politicians who show mock horror at a problem but don’t use their powers to solve it.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.