Safe cities and safe public spaces for women and girls: Global initiative third international compendium of practices

This third international compendium of practices illustrates, in a practical way, how participating cities in the Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces for Women and Girls Global Initiative are working to implement concerted action in four key areas: 

• ensuring that locally relevant and owned solutions are identified
• strengthening laws and policies
• investing in the safety and economic viability of public spaces
• fostering transformative social norms that promote women’s and girls’ rights to use public spaces free from sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls

In doing so, city partners are committed to working to advance their integrated approaches to reduce the prevalence of sexual harassment against women and girls in public spaces, increase women’s and girls’ feelings of safety, and increase women’s and girls’ autonomous mobility.

The compendium includes practices in Safe Cities initiatives implemented between January 2022 and January 2025. The compendium showcases resilient action and innovation in addressing new and emerging issues, including technology-facilitated sexual harassment and other forms of violence against women and girls. Promising practices have been selected among those that have led to positive outcomes, involve collaborative partnerships, and illustrate innovative action on women’s safety in public spaces in different settings, including urban, rural, and online.