Safe bus stops

| Subject: International Cooperation

Webinar amb San Salvador i Maputo Webinar with San Salvador and Maputo to discuss bus stop design from a gender and diversity-based perspective

Imatge d'una parada d'autobus

On Friday 5 February 2021, a Webinar was held to reflect upon the conceptualisation and design of bus stops with a focus on gender and diversity. Special emphasis was placed on reflecting upon the strategies and measures to reduce sexual harassment and other forms of violence against women on public transport. Several experts from the metropolitan areas of San Salvador, Maputo and Barcelona took part in the workshop.

Experience with safe stops

During the workshop three experiences were put forward. The AMB's mobility team presented and reflected upon metropolitan bus stops and they revealed the ‘stop on-demand' service.

In turn, the transport and social action team of the Conselho Muncipial de Maputo explained the processes they are developing in the area of collective transport, as well as strategies and campaigns against sexual harassment on public transport, which are being implemented with Architecture Sans Frontières, the Maputo Metropolitan Transport Agency and the AMB.
Lastly, Arquitectura Sin Fronteras in El Salvador presented the bus stop model designed for the metropolitan area of San Salvador.

Mobility and violence for women in the AMSS

Mobility, the perception of safety and the violence experienced by men and women are not the same. After carrying out a series of citizen surveys, it can be concluded that in El Salvador, 90.1% of the population use public transport, although 90% of the women have stated that they have suffered from sexual harassment or seen another woman being harassed on public transport. Furthermore, 69.9% of users do not feel safe on public transport, 71.6% on buses themselves and 71.3% at bus stops. One out of every two women has been a victim of violence on public transport, most of whom are young girls and teenagers (72.4%).

The project ‘Women Free from Violence in Public Transport' included the design of a model bus stop, which was subsequently implemented. To design it, a participatory workshop was organised with women, so as to incorporate their perception, needs and interests.

The workshop helped to understand and reflect upon mobility and public space as key aspects to reduce the harassment and violence suffered by women. It must be kept in mind that freedom and safety of mobility guarantee access to many other fundamental rights, such as health, education and economic rights. For this reason, a national commitment is necessary to eradicate violence in public spaces.

This workshop was organised as part of the project ‘Women Free from Violence in Public Transport' – funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund and coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women – aimed towards giving visibility to the problem of harassment. UN Women, the Planning Office of San Salvador Metropolitan Area (OPAMSS) and the AMB worked in collaboration to design the webinar.

AMB is developing actions in AMSS with COAMSS/OPAMSS

The AMB is carrying out diverse cooperation projects related to mobility and public space with its counterpart in the metropolitan area of San Salvador, COAMSS/OPAMSS. They have been working together since 2017 to advance towards sustainable, equitable, inclusive and safe public spaces and mobility. Policies have been updated, methodology, training courses and pilot projects have been designed in diverse municipalities of the metropolis.

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